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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:
LadyTophamHatt · 08/09/2006 10:12

it's not the time actually making the pack lunch, it's the daily battle to think of something different thats healthy and that he'll eat that takes the time.

I know all this isn't aimed at "me"(I don't mean personally I mean people like me) and my attempts at pack lunches but his life is sooooo different to mine and 1000's of other parents who do packed lunches...it just winds me up when anyone preaches about the crap we feed our kids.
I put veg on Ds2's plate every time we have it (3-4 tims aweek) and he never eats it....EVER!
I've tried all sorts of differnet veg, mashing it, steaming it, raw...you name it I've tried it but he just won't eat it.

I once read somewhere that to get a child to eat a new food you have to present it too them 21 times before they try it (it' wasn't JO who said it though)
WTF??
Ds2 is 5 so by my calulations 3 plates per week presented with veg for 5 yrs is 780 meals...thast only 759 too many.

Like I said earlier my patience ran out a LONG time ago....

anyway...I'm not really making any sense on here and as I know our packed lunches aren't the thing he's talking about I'll get my coat.

LadyTophamHatt · 08/09/2006 10:14

Sorry one last post....

yes FIO....thats exactly how I feel too.

MaryP0p1 · 08/09/2006 10:14

I am going to start a row here but anyway.

Mrs Flo if a parent feed their children crap everyday all day, they will never learn and continue that way for the rest of their lives. When they are sick and have a series of unpleasent health conditions because of the way they are eating whose fault is that the child?

Various health conditions are entirely preventable with a good diet and understanding of healthy eating. Research is begining to show more and more conditions are affected by diet. The cost to the national health service, and therefore the taxpayer, to treat those conditions is huge. Just because SOME parent choose not to care does that mean everyone should suffer?

Sandcastles · 08/09/2006 10:15

heavenis, why do the schools have a responsibility? The schools have only had to ban these foods as parents let their children have them on very frequent occasions. The children will just go home & eat/drink it out of the cupboards. The parents need educating and it not up to the schools. Plus, some parents are just ignorant & don't care!

puddle · 08/09/2006 10:15

Marypop your description of Intalian school lunches has me drooling.

I like Jamie a lot - these comments have to be put in the comtext of all the work he's done to try and help people to eat more healthily.

He's is not oblivious to the pressures of cooking on a budget or trying to sling something healthy together quickly when you've been at work all day - his school dinners book tackles these things.

MrsFio · 08/09/2006 10:16

my children dont suffer, on the whole they eat well but they still eat mini rolls
I think it is none of his business. from what i can see he most probably has no idea what his own wife feeds his daughters

LadyTophamHatt · 08/09/2006 10:17

but he doesn't have to be so bloody in you face about it MP....yes we all know it's the best way to go about feeding them but if we've tried and tried and tried and tried and tried (like 780 times) it gets rather annoying.

TBH i doubt he rarely cooks for his kids.

Medulla · 08/09/2006 10:18

I agree puddles, in fact didn't he proove during his series that it is so much cheaper to cook fresh food than it is to buy convenience? I think he is great - it's not hard to feed them good healthy stuff but I take LTHH's point about inspiration - I have alot of days where I find that I lack it!

Holidaymum · 08/09/2006 10:18

How I envy you MaryP0p1! Things have gone badly wrong over here. Education is the way forward though nad campaigning, to me its great that a high profile person such as JO is voicing his concerns, someone needs to.

I'm lucky, my mum cooked well and from scratch good wholesome traditional meals and I learned to cook with her, plus I was taught HE at school and learned lots about nutrition and budgeting there. Lots of my contempories have not been as fortunate, they had parents who used the first generation of convenience foods in the 70's and didn't cook anymore, plus many schools didn't teach it either.

We definately need a campaign to educate these parents, I do as my mother did to some extent and they do as theirs did, but the convenience food available now is so so bad, people need to learn this and we must relearn how to eat well.

Piffle · 08/09/2006 10:19

Excepting those with specific dietary needs that make such lunches difficult I could not agree with him more.
I can actually happlily give my ds school dinner money now, safe in the knowledge he is being offered very good meal choices.
This simply was not the case a year ago.
For that alone JO needs championing

Orlando · 08/09/2006 10:22

Is your son in secondary or primary school, piffle?

puddle · 08/09/2006 10:24

I don't know why you're so cynical/ defensive. I imagine he cooks for and eats with his kids a lot.

There's a world of difference between giving your child the odd mini roll and giving them dairylea lunchables washed down with pop as their main meal everyday.

Medulla · 08/09/2006 10:25

I would imagine he does too, but does it matter if he doesn't? I'm sure Jools is quite capable of feeding her children appropriately!

MaryP0p1 · 08/09/2006 10:26

I don't see anyone else saying the things he is saying, not the health service not the schools not the government, yes some parents but whose listening?. Most people are scared of offending someone. But as I said before I moved country to prevent what I saw and ensure my children's health the best way I could. This is a real issue that is not going to go away. This generation of children are the most unhealthy children because of the lack of exercise and what they eat. SOMETHING IS BADLY WRONG when there is only one, yes admittidly, loud voice saying this and being heard.

MrsFio · 08/09/2006 10:26

I just get fed up with hearing him preaching day ina nd day out as if he some kind of martyr and I find his manner incredibly rude. Its enitirely personal and not at all relevent. But I also think he has no idea how the other live

LadyTophamHatt · 08/09/2006 10:27

if I was his wife I feed the kids lunchables and fizy drinks just to piss him off.

thankfully I'm not his wife....the bloke is a knobend.

MaryP0p1 · 08/09/2006 10:27

Holidaymum and Poodle, I agree the food is good. The first question every mum asked when the children get out of school is not what do you do but what did you eat? Different lifestyle!

puddle · 08/09/2006 10:28

I disagree Mrsfio. I think he had the patience of a saint when confronted by rude kids and their parents during his school dinners series.

Yes, these comments are confrontational but that's just why they are being reported. I think JOs style in general is much more consensual and he tries to win people over by SHOWING them that good food makes a big difference.

Holidaymum · 08/09/2006 10:29

Must admit I do that when they stop for cooked dinners too. Food is very important to us.

Bibliophile · 08/09/2006 10:29

He hasn't always been rich. His dad ran a pub. I think he's right. Some parents are literally killing their kids with what they feed him. I think that's everybody's business.

MrsFio · 08/09/2006 10:30

Oh i didnt watch his series, my blood pressue would have been through the roof

Bibliophile · 08/09/2006 10:30

It was absolutely brilliant.

Piffle · 08/09/2006 10:30

secondary orlando

Holidaymum · 08/09/2006 10:31

agree completely Bibliophile God knows what its going to do to the health service in years to come, heart disease and cancer rates are going to soar and that affects us all.

katierocket · 08/09/2006 10:32

I'm really surprised at your opinion of him Fio and LTH. He came across as a thoroughly nice bloke when he took on those kids and trained them to be chefs and then gave them jobs. He's right to highlight the fact that some kids lunchboxes are just full of crap - there isn't any need for it. It's the quickest thing in the world.