Jamie Oliver webchat, Thursday 29 August, 2.45pm

[GeraldineMumsnet]

We're chuffed that Jamie Oliver is paying a return visit to Mumsnet this Thursday. His first MN webchat was back in 2010.

Jamie has a new book out, Save with Jamie: Shop Smart, Cook Clever, Waste Less (all subjects dear to MNers' hearts). It has 100 brand-new recipes designed to be accessible, reliable and, above all, affordable.

This is what Jamie says about his new book: "For years I have been telling people that if you look back through history, the best food in the world has always come from communities under massive financial pressure. But the proviso is that you MUST be able to cook! If you can't, and have no money, that is where the trouble starts. This is a cook book which, from start to finish has tasty recipes, all dedicated to great value, is a brilliant weapon to have on the shelf, and is relevant to every household. If you use this book the way it's intended, you should end up saving a wodge of cash from your wallet."

And to tie in with the book, he has a new six-part series on Channel 4 starting on Monday 2 Sept at 8pm.

Please post your question and join Jamie for a chat at 2.45pm on Thurs.

Any chance of an 'all nations' curry cook book in the future and would you & yours consider coming round for dinner with hubby, the four biters and I if we cooked?

mermaid, i think the comments and questions are perfectly valid and sensible actually and if it wasn't for the glib publicity seeking comments made by the chef himself then i guess it would be a thread about sensible boring culinary questions, but I think the other stuff is far more important. I think he is supposed to be here to discuss cheap alternatives so yes, maybe he will be able to offer an alternative to anchovies

Quite, LEM.

Some people will want to talk about the chef's work and ideals, others will want to focus on purely recipes/food queries. Both equally valid and IMHO it's rude to say that one or the other set of questions are somehow not worthwhile

Just leave out the anchovies. Tweak the amount of capers.www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/sep/25/nigel-slater-classic-salsa-verde

I think the point here is that while he is selling a book, he also started the firestorm by his very public comments. We're simply playing by his rules.

I do hope we can focus on the debate and the questions raised, rather than this thread turning into a bunfight which of course the media would love.

Trigglesx - again, my apologies. The practicalities of your situation sound very tough indeed and you have my sympathy. My comments were aimed at the able-bodied but unwilling, and no offence was intended for those like yourself dealing with their own or their loved ones' disability, non-obesity-related-illness or age-related infirmity.

I just want to say, I think you are very brave; you didn't have to do a campaign like this, you could have done "tasty food from around the world" cookbooks for the rest of your life.
Yes I think some of your recent comments were ill advised, but I think you are a bright enough bloke to take on board what people are saying and adjust your point of view accordingly.
The world is full of people who whinge about the problems rather than looking for solutions. Good luck to you Jamie, at least you are trying.

Steering clear of your controversial foot in mouth recent comments and talking about your recipes, a few of us on MN recently started a Cookery Book Club to encourage us to cook new things from the many, many cookbooks lining our shelves not buy more books, oh no

Back in June we took your 30 minute book thread here and had a go. My question is, despite the deliciousness of most of the recipes, even leaving out the copious amounts of olive oil, how can a recipe only take 30 minutes when you need to factor in getting ingredients out and prepped, dragging out the food processor to save minutes chopping and the enormous amount of washing up created? For me to work a recipe from the book the same way, my kitchen ended up like a bombsite! I get that they're mainly aimed at poorly taught twenty something's rather than middle aged Mums who can cook but still it does appear the title is false advertising

Oh, and an idea for your charity work. How about you bring together a store cupboard essentials box, salt, pepper, spices, flours, vinegars, oils, tin toms, etc.. That can be given to families that take part in the free cookery programmes in the community that you're going to head up as your next campaign ( I may have just invented that for you). Many of the current crop of Celebrity Chefs have tie ins with the major supermarkets, the ones that don't have an inflation rate in line with the official figures, that's all of them by the way, how about using your influence to lobby them to provide teaching for those on low incomes/no income so they can provide good, nutritious food for their families and getting the price of everyday essential food prices down without hitting the farmers that produce it. Supermarkets could do with a drop in profits, the farmers can't.

I have a small tv, is it okay for me to cook super noodles for my children?

But the point, alikat, is that there are LOTS of people with various valid reasons why they can't just "pop" down to the market or shops. And rather than lumping everyone in the "lazy unemployed" stereotypes, perhaps a bit of compassion and realism might go a long way.

Tearing people down is not going to encourage them to make changes - encouragement, making things accessible, education. THESE things make positive life-long changes. Not ridicule or nasty comments.

I admire all Jamie has done raising awareness of poor eating habits. Firstly the recent furore ref TV v healthy food may have alienated some of those people it is most necessary to reach. Is there a point where 'all publicity is not good publicity'? and is there a different more positive way that Jamie can engage with these people.
Secondly what are Jamie's views on 'The School Food Plan' and how does he see his Kitchen Garden Project working with the plan.

I think honest addressing of people's questions will avoid a bun fight. Just hope he has cleared his diary for the rest of the day and that MNHQ has the Gin on ice (although poor Jools will have to stay sober throughout the ordeal if she accompanies him).....

And it is ok for a 20 month old to not eat meat, fish and eggs. He's getting what he needs from bread, dairy, fruit and veg. He will try other stuff in time. You could try him with eggy bread or a slice of tortilla if you want.

Hi, I used to live where you grew up

Anyway, I have £30 a week for a family of seven (only for a few months, and the circumstances came about after we had the children!) and I wondered what cheap substitutions you would suggest for some meals in your cookbook?

Oh, and an idea for your charity work. How about you bring together a store cupboard essentials box, salt, pepper, spices, flours, vinegars, oils, tin toms, etc.. That can be given to families that take part in the free cookery programmes in the community that you're going to head up as your next campaign

This is more helpful and positive. And as people will automatically ask about funding, perhaps the supermarkets can all contribute to funding the leaflets and recipe books as well, as it's good advertising for them. Maybe even a voucher provided in the books for £5 worth of free produce when purchasing £25 worth of groceries as well - to encourage the use of fresh produce.

Obesity related illness, once it has taken hold is still limiting. A obese person cannot simply decide to get up one day and walk 5 miles to the local market and five miles back with 5 heavy shopping bags, because a TV chef has told him to, they simply would not manage it.

Believe me, I was there myself a few months ago (not because of poverty but depression, lack of time, and laziness, I ate good wholesome food most days, just too much of it and too much snacking from boredom along with not enough self worth to bother trying to change it) and whilst now I can walk to Tesco and lug bag half a weeks shopping on my own, I couldn't even have dreamed of doing that 3 months ago. I'd have passed out halfway home and/or had an asthma (genetic, not weight related, but was exacerbated by weight)

If JO genuinely wants to help then he needs to understand the challenges every day people face, even with 'simple' things like sourcing food from suitable outlets can be a challenge if you have health issues/live in the wrong area/are on a very tight income/have no time.

Surely it is the obese Jamie is aiming his books etc at? The challenges those people face with day to day living should be considered.

lem I was referring to the posts not asking pertinent questions but telling everyone else what they should be doing

There are enough threads elsewhere telling people to get a job and buy more lentils elsewhere without this one going that way too. ((Hugs)) lem

lem see my question up thread that I want addressing, it's the one about BBQ sauce.

LEM, not sure who mermaid is but I'm not trying to diminish the other debate, it's just dominated this thread when there are already comments elsewhere and I was just adding in some cooking questions, after all he is a chef. Sorry to bore you so with my culinary questions

Morphy thanks for the link

good grief, 11 pages and he's not even here yet. Best of luck Jamie! I for one feel a Scheherazade coming on.................

Yes, he is a chef. But a chef that has intentionally made some very inflammatory public criticisms lately, and you cannot convince me that he wasn't fully aware of what he was doing.

The decent, cheap (compared to supermarkets) generally brilliant fruit and veg stall I use is in a place half an hours drive away. The cost of the bus would more than erase any price savings. It's in a place that has a poorer section but outside of that is bloody pricey uber upper middle class. The reason I use it is that the nearest place to me, which has a much more mixed population and an average house price £200k less than the first, also has one fruit and veg stall. It is a) no cheaper than the supermarkets and b) sells stuff that looks like it's been sitting there for a fortnight and wasn't that great to start with. This isn't a small village. It's a town. The first place is a city. They don't have markets.

Jamie

A question - it may have already been asked...

Do you think the major supermarkets (at least one of which you have had a very productive and, dare I say it, very profitable relationship) should take some responsibility for the closing of markets and small scale shops, thus preventing many of us from picking up only ten pieces of mange tout on our way home from work, as the supermarkets packet up fruit and veg in large quantities resulting in us NOT buying the products or over-buying and creating food waste?

Thank you in anticipation.

Hello Jamie

Don't, whatever you do, loose any of your fighting spirit ..

Foodbanks - hoping to work with mine, through an environmental group, to provide fresh fruit, herbs and veg. So far, largely cos of storage probs, it's all cans and tins - and very often lots of sweet stuff.

Do you have any connection with Foodbanks and do you think that a next step might be to encourage clients to get involved in cooking the fresh stuff - creating recipes - sharing them - enjoying good, nutritious good and, of course, growing it? A bit like your Pass It On campaign (which my kids and I signed up to many moons ago!).