Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
News
Original poster

Jamie Olivers rant about packed lunches.

516 replies

misdee · 08/09/2006 07:11

LONDON (Reuters) - Jamie Oliver, the television chef famous for his crusade to improve school dinners, lashed out at parents on Thursday over the food they give to their children.

Speaking at the launch of his new TV programme, Oliver said 70 percent of packed lunches in were "disgraceful" and he would like to see them banned.

He said the decisions parents made regarding the diets of their children
were sometimes just plain wrong.
"I've spent two years being politically correct about parents but it's time to say, if you're giving your young kids fizzy drinks, you're an a*hole and a tosser," Oliver said.

"If you give them bags of crisps, you're an idiot. If you aren't cooking them a hot meal, sort it out."

Oliver said headteachers were too frightened of some parents to tell them what they should give their child to bring to school.

He was particularly critical of parents who give their children Red Bull an energy drink when they are tired, saying it was not much better than giving them a line of cocaine.

Oliver's new programme, "Jamie's Return to School Dinners", is a follow-up to his successful Channel 4 series on improving school meals.

OP posts:
Iklboo · 08/09/2006 09:09

It seems to have been all of a sudden this kind of thing has been happening. When I was in junior school (sheesh - 25-30 years ago) the jam butty on warbies white bread/swiss roll/crisps/fizzy drink was all any of us ate - and then when home to fishfingers & chips with ketchup.
There was the odd bad penny but the vast majority of us were well behaved, intelligent children.
I wonder what the difference is today?

Holidaymum · 08/09/2006 09:13

Additives! They have much much nastier chemicals in food than when we were little! I bet your mum made the chips not took them out of a packet? Even old fashioned frozen chips were just potato that got deep fried. There werent artificial sweeteners in the pop, jam has starch and other fillers plus colourings, warbies bread had added calcium by law, not sure that still applies. Food manufacturers can make food cheaper to produce by adding nasties.

Milge · 08/09/2006 09:13

At least he has the courage to stand up and speak out to try and stop schools operating to the lowest common denominator. He was just trying to get his message across to the thousands of parents who do feed their kids crap on a REGULAR and UNSTINTING basis. NOT MNrs who put a bag of plain crisps in a lunchbox once a week( or eat a Greggs sausage roll or two!)

moyasmum · 08/09/2006 09:14

I remember I was never going to give my kids rubbish,and give them a varied healthy diet. This was before we met the kids and their parents who just ate crap. Their continual influence and the eat as you go culture, really demoralised me. Before I knew It, we were living on fish fingers and pizza far too often. I agree with J.O and I am big enough to take a criticism and do something about it. we can all find excuses, but thats all they really are.

Charleesunnysunsun · 08/09/2006 09:14

I think JO's talking about the extreme cases im sure even his girls get a slice of his choccy cake now and again and maybe even a glass of lemonade or coke on special occassions. I think it's the kids that are getting crap everyday then having chips and turkey twizzlers for dinner everyday as well.

I don;t think any resonable parent has a problem with the odd bit of junk food, surley it's about finding a balance and teaching kids a healthy food attitude for the future.

LadyTophamHatt · 08/09/2006 09:16

Well....if I ever met him I'd tell him to come to my house and try to make ds2 eat a decent packed lunch.

Of course his kids eat the proper things...he;s a f*cking chef FGS and a loaded one at that. Hmmm...is it him who makes his kids packed lunches everyday?? I bet he doesn't.

I've tried everything to get Ds2 to eat a sandwich. The closest we get is bread and butter with bits of cheese in a separate box.
If he could make ds2 eat fruit...fresh fruit I mean, not pinapple or manderins out of a tin I'd sell my soul to the devil.

If he want to preach to me tell him to come here and walk a day in my shoes.
He's a prick and this has fucked me right off.

Thomcat · 08/09/2006 09:17

I think good on you Jamie.
Don't see anyone else stepping upand bringing it to the public's attention in this way. He started to make a difference with schools and make a difference in the homes too?

If he makes a small handful of people out there think about what they shove into a lunch box every day then that's fantastic. And in most cases, not all, ie if your child has special needs and crisps are the only thing he'll eat, then yes if you give your kids a bag of crisps every day and pack them off to school with a load of additive laden crap food, it's a pretty idiotic and irresponsible and lazy thing to do.

Don't get me wrong, packing a healthy lunch box isn't easy and requires thought, time, effort. Lottie has the odd half a sausage roll in hers now and then or a scotch egg or cocktail sausage but on the whole i make a real effort to give her healthy and fun food.

I don't think it's Jamie 'ranting' as the thread says, I think it's him using his celebritness to make a difference. There are so many useless celebs out there. This is his passion and he made a difference once, why stop there?

Good on you Jamie, good to see someone caring.

hulababy · 08/09/2006 09:18

"The closest we get is bread and butter with bits of cheese in a separate box. "

Suirely that is fine. And healthy. I am not into sandwiches. Prefer it seperate. But this is the same as a sandwich, just pulled apart.

southeastastra · 08/09/2006 09:18

i agree with you LTH! he just bugs me big time. i actually liked the first series of his programmes but he makes me want to stuff a cream cake down his gob. grrr

Greensleeves · 08/09/2006 09:19

Good for him. He's right. And it's so good to see a young "celebrity" actually using his high profile to do something useful for once. All credit to him IMO. (And he's a sweetie)

LadyTophamHatt · 08/09/2006 09:19

Yes, hula but that all he'll eat.

That and a yoghurt.

It's already boring and we're only 4 days into the new term.

Thomcat · 08/09/2006 09:20

Thre are parents out there who give their kid, every day, with no thought and effort or love gone into it
a jam sandwich on white bread
a packet of crisps
a chocolate biscuit
a fizzy drink

It's those people he's trying to reach.

hulababy · 08/09/2006 09:20

I don't understand how it can be a bad thaing that he cares about the health of our children.

The crap schools are feeding our children is scandelous. And sadly, having seen his programmes and watched children ins chools, some of the rubbish parents feed their children is also garbage - and a regular thing.

Do you really think things will chnge unless someone shouts? The Government couldn't care less. The organisations providing the food couldn't care less. At least he does. At least he has the guts to stand up and say something.

Original poster
misdee · 08/09/2006 09:21

when i was at junior school, having school lunches, we actually had a cook who knew how to 'cook', nit just reheat food like the current systems schools sometimes have. dd1 school has a 'kidz kafe' (dont get me started on the spelling of this grrr, the children voted on it but still...), and they have healthy lunches, pasta bakes, salads, jacket potatoes, no turkey twizzlers in sight. dd1 was at packed lunches at her old school as they served up pre-package crap all the time, she had an allergic reaction, so i requested the days menu and ingrediants and was disgusted. dd1 cant have colourings or foods with high additives due to her allergies. if she had packed lunches at her new school, it would be a chicken or ham sandwich (wholemeal), bottle of tropicana, and an apple/orange. dd1 doesnt each much. at her old school i sent her in a packet of fruit flakes with yopghurt coating, which the dinner ladies kept taking off her as they thought it was chocolate.

OP posts:
southeastastra · 08/09/2006 09:21

our school banned crisps, chocolate and fizzy drinks in packed lunches long before jo got his oar in

Holidaymum · 08/09/2006 09:21

LTH nothing wrong with giving bread and cheese separately very continental! Nor wit tinned fruit it still counts as one of your 5 portions, mine often have a tupperware tub of it as a pack up treat, noone would criticize you for that you are trying, its the parents who don't try and shove a dairylee dunker followed with sweets and pop that need to learn they are wrong.

Holidaymum · 08/09/2006 09:22

oops will learn to type and spell one day

redbull · 08/09/2006 09:24

hello all allthough my name is redbull i would NEVER EVER give it to ds i drink it on the night with vodka, its the only alcoholic drink i have,as for the packed lunches i have to say i think myself its down to the parents what they give their child to eat, if they cant afford nice luxary food then they should be given free school dinners, and they are now healthy thanks to jamie oliver

southeastastra · 08/09/2006 09:27

but no thanks to the government who decided in the first place to contract out all school dinners, ensuring meals were as cheap as possible. i love the way the government are now bringing jo on board to rectify their original mistake. 70s school dinners were fresh and good.

Original poster
misdee · 08/09/2006 09:28

80's school dinners werent too bad either, well apart from the cabbage which seemed to be served every day.

OP posts:
LadyTophamHatt · 08/09/2006 09:29

I was in total praise of him about school dinners even though mine would never eat them regardless of what was being served.

This just gets my back up because not everyone has the time, patience and money to do packed lunches like he suggests. I know the ds's aren't too bad but they could be a whole lot better.

Ds1 is in yr3 so I've had 4 yrs practice at packed lunches. I have got the time and the money(not that much though!!) but my patience ran out a LONG time ago.

God, i'm in a bad mood today.
I'd advise you all to avoid east sussex today...for you own safety!

MissChief · 08/09/2006 09:30

Good for jamie, glad someone in the spotlight has the guts to speak out on this, the gov are so bloody right on/scared to offend!

Makes my blood boil some of the food kids are given. Of course what they eat affects them and therefore all of us..

LadyTophamHatt · 08/09/2006 09:31

(mine have never had a lunchable type thing in the boxes, niether like fizzy drinks either BTW)

Iklboo · 08/09/2006 09:33

Oh - and the new sparkling government revelation that they're going to "introduce" cookery classes in schools....
Er, yes. That's what I did for 5 years at senior school, once a week (we were supposed to rotate with sewing, woodwork & metalwork but the sewing teacher went off on long term sick and I was dangerously shite at woodwork & metalwork - on purpose).
I loved doing cookery lesson - sometimes I get pulled out of other classes to help do scones, cakes, pies etc for governers' meetings.

Furball · 08/09/2006 09:33

I think what he's done for the awareness to the school dinner issue is fantastic. He had a goal that he set himself that he could cook a delious healthy nutrious meal for the same price as a turkey twizzler and some limp chips. No one else could be bothered, no one else cared everyone would just moan about it and not do anything. Fair play to him for bringing about these changes it has to be a good thing whether you like him or not.

OK so on the packed lunch front, he's not having a go at the average parent with a little bit of knowledge about nutrition, variety and common sense. He's saying if you can't be bothered to give your children proper food everyday, then why. Surely thats right too.