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.

TheRealJules, I cant take you seriously since you said in an interview that every Christmas Morning you ware flashing christmas tree nipple clamps as a present for JimJams. Just why did you need to share that

I thought she spelt it Jools

1. The breadcrumbs would need to be a bit crispy to work properly, I think.
2. Blackcurrant glut would work well as cordial in little bottles from Lakeland. Try adapting my recipe for rosehip syrup.

Jamie's comment about earning minimum wage himself is quite clever. Does he mean he earned it while living with his parents or while living in London with Jule's occasional modelling jobs to help put food on the table?

Both sets are parents are extremely comfortable so I seriously doubt they didn't have any assistance while they pursued their dreams.

BTW my eBook is free tomorrow again for 24 hours, if anyone wants it. See the blog for details of how to get hold of it.

Austerity Housekeeping

BTW UK minimum wage was introduced on 1 April 1999. Jamie was on TV by then, was he not?

I'm out of pastry, but I'll give it a go next week and tell you how it turns out Boffin. I assume it's to soak up some of the extra fluid?

TheRealJules or Therealjools

Will you be doing a Tana Ramsay and putting out your own cook book?

Very prescient of Tana considering the mess Gordon's got his business in (allegedly).....

He was. DD was born in 2000 and I remember XH liking Jamie's macho posturings. Not enough to get his arse off the sofa and actually cook something but he may have made me buy a mortar and pestle

TeWi, try to use the semolina if you can, it really will work the best of all. The tarts will work well with home made shortcrust pastry as well, or another nifty recipe is to lay them in the bottom of a baking tray and pour a sponge mix on top and then cook up the whole lot. BTW I know this is not very austerity minded but if you put a bit of cassis over blackberries in recipes it tastes even more divine.

I noticed that too corrina

I was subsidised in my career dreams by my hardworking working class parents in Essex about 20 years before Jamie Oliver.

I'd guess that it was more difficult for them than for the Olivers.

It would be nice if he recognised that because it doesn't seem that he's noticed the leg-up he's had.

limited, I agree.

I think young people on low wages could also claim housing benefit in those days. Certainly when the current government changed this a few of my friends acknowledged that they couldn't possibly have moved from University to London on starter wages without this help.

Oh, I would dearly love to know if he was ever in receipt of HB...

Just worked out he was discovered by the BBC in 1997, and around that time had a best selling cookbook and his own TV series. So the minimum wage thing really can't apply. I think he means he was comparatively poorly paid (but then weren't we all at the beginning of our careers?)

He was discovered working at the River Cafe, the BBC were filming the owners. They liked him and his cheeky banter, thats how he became the naked chef.

Yes boffinmum. And though he gave an answer to the minimum wage question - he pays it, because you have to - he ignored the questions about zero hours contracts and workfare.

I could be wrong but I believe that his company has tried to join the work programme - which is getting people on Jobseekers' Allowance at no cost - and has been turned down.

If I am wrong then I am happy to be corrected. I'm sure that Jamie Oliver's people are, in his words, dipping in and out of this thread, so if they'd like to answer those questions, I'm all ears.

I noticed that he ignored the workfare and zero hours questions. Ho hum.

Didn't Fifteen actually start with people on JSA working for free?

Whoops, reading comprehension fail on my part.

I think Fifteen started with people working for free, but it was a venture to get young, disadvantaged adults trained as chefs and so on.

He doesn't address Workfare directly but does say, even the lowest paid employee walks away with more than minimum wage and they get all the benefits that you would expect

That could mean that with housing benefit and council tax benefit that his employees net more than NMW overall even if they don't have it in their pockets.

Or it could mean that they walk away from being employed by him to a properly paid job at NMW

I had considered trying that, Boffin - but then I'd probably end up having to drink it myself because DS1 would turn his nose up at it like he does Rocks cordial.

Arf Corrina.

I've just found out one of my cousins has been featured on Jamie's 'save with Jamie' youtube page. He's really proud, but they got his name and location wrong :)

Corrina, I think you'll find that what he said was 'as far as I know'. Which is a massive arse covering exercise which means nothing.