Are you watching Jamie Oliver's school dinners?

[MunchedTooManyMarsLady]

Jamie's being given a run for his money. Loving it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I felt really angry and also moved at the end of this programme. If Jamie didn't start that episode in the 'real world' he was certainly there by the end of his stay in Durham.To some extent I am sheltered too - I was open mouthed at what some of those kids had in their lunches - my kids school doesn't allow choc, crisps, drinks other than water etc - so I would have liked to see Jamie challenge the Head on that a bit more. It's surely easier at primary level - the children can't vote with their feet in the same way as secondary.

Interesting how his approach to get them involved in cooking the food made a real difference. I have found this with mine too. But my kids wouldnt recognise asparagus either (although dd does like it). I think bozza you are right about the loss of 'cooking' skills - we are bringing up a generation of kids who will have the ability to reheat or order a takeaway.

I agree that the parents need re-educating too. There seems to be a whole generation who have missed out on learning basic skills.

I too have friends who are degree educated who can't cook/won't cook. As has been shown recently by the Sudan 1 fiasco, it doesn't matter if you pay more for your ready meals and buy them at Waitrose, it's still all the same crap.

I agree that JO's expectations are probably a bit far fetched and way out there with the asparagus but I can understand how frustrating it must be that an 11 year old cannot identify an onion.

And I agree, how awful that that mother served her kids tueky twizzlers but had never tasted them before. And when she did she said "yuck"

people of Sudan apparently are v cross about the use of their country's name in all this...

I agree Bozza - the food culture in this country has sunk so low that we've lost the skills, for a variety of reasons, including the power of the food industry. In fact, I'm not in a position to criticise anyone individually as before I had dd, I existed on fresh pasta and jars of sauce with bagged salad. The weaning process was a huge learning curve for me and I had to relearn how to make chicken chasseur, spag bol, shepherd's pie - I hadn't made them for years. At least I've brushed up my cooking skills but many parents don't bother and remain in ignorance about the shit they eat.

I would also die of shame re the pot noodle thing. I wouldn't have one in the house. Also if my kids were so damn RUDE as some of those on the telly. If Jamie Oliver came to cook at our house there would be pleases and thank yous coming out of all our ears! Sulking would NOT be permitted. As for those kids with their silly anti-Jamie placards at the end of the episode, I suspect it was set up, but even so I would not let my children do that. They'd be grounded forever.

muminlondon - I don't think it's just that some parents don't bother. I work three days a week and cooking (and having time to eat) a 'proper' meal for us all in the time between picking the children up and their bedtime does take some organisation. Those are the times when I tend to reach for the fish fingers...

aloha i saw a mum with a couple of kids in the corner shop near us the other day, with an armful of pot noodles (various flavours) - i hope i managed to close my mouth in time for her not to think i was being very rude!

Fish fingers are fine, but Pot Noodles??? Yeuch.

I work 4 days a week and yes I agree, it's really hard to be organised, so I also give dd fish fingers and frozen peas when I don't have time to cook. There is a balance though - the fish fingers I give are 100% fish, not 30% turkey, and frozen peas are still full of vitamins and fibre. And I'm now in the habit of cooking large quantities and freezing portions of spag bol, etc. At weekends we cook everything from fresh, even if it's just grilled chicken, steamed broccoli and pasta (easier than sticking a pot in the microwave).

But puddle - surely baked beans on granary toast. Or a bowl of pasta with pesto sauce. Or a quick ham omelet. Or a pack of stir fry veg chucked in the pan and cooked for 3 mins. Or food cooked the night before or in the slowcooker is better than a constant diet of junk food.

I think the fact that you only do this 3 days a week is better than doing it constantly and you can help by doing fish fingers and mash and veg and making sure the fish fingers are good quality etc etc etc.

We need to rethink our relationship with food and that junk food is not the easy and cheap answer that its cracked up to be.

MuminLondon and StupidGirl - Sometimes I think me and my husband are a loan voice in hating the supermarket chains and going out of our way to use small local green grocers and delicatesens. We don't have access to a butcher where I live and we're forced to use the supermarket for meat. We forever rant about food to our friends and family and I think they think we are weird.

Another revealing book to read is "What's not on the label" it highlights more supermarket corruption.

I'm also an avid label reader since reading Not on the Label by Felicity Lawrence.

I agree to a certain extent, puddle, but I work 4 days a week and, admitedly I only have DH and myself to cook for as DS gets his nutricious delights at nursery , but I do cook from scratch every night (apart from take-away night on Friday or Saturday).

Ok, we do eat rather late in our house...

snap Beatie, our posts crossed but I absolutely agree.

I think it was a very honest comment he made about not sending his kids to a state school. I mean, the guy's a multi-millionaire, of course they're not going to end up at the local comp being fed turkey bloody twizzlers. He has the ability to protect his kids from this crap and yet he is still prepared to go out there and, frankly, make an arse of himself to change the way those kids get to eat who don't live in £2 million-quid houses in Notting Hill.

I do agree that expecting them to identify asparagus was a bit much but, then again, why shouldn't we have high expectations? It's the 'oh, they're just kids, crap is all they want to eat' attitude that's got us into this awful bloody constipated mess in the first place, isn't it?

I gave asparagus as a finger food to dd when she refused to be spoon fed - maybe it WAS expensive but it was so easy to cook! Funny smelling wee though...

Hmm, stir-fry veg and rice...one of Ds' favourites

obviously snafu, they should have gone down the more recognisable/cheaper veg route (carrots, root veg at this time of year, onions etc) but it is entertainment, after all. i read that oliver's children aren't even allowed things like biscuits, and i think banning things like that (where you can get nutritious examples with oats plus dried fruit, organic etc, even make your own) is a little hard line and i'm sure there's research showing that if you completely ban things that kids could go the other way and eat nothing but crap later on. a little of everything, in our house (except pot noodle)

One a more trivial note, I did think their house was very nice. And I liked the baby blue front door. Dh thinks I'm insane for noticing things like this. I tell him it's called being female.

Me too Aloha

they're in hampstead, round the corner from a colleague of mine, i think

and the girls are so sweet too!

Yep, agree absolutely, bundle. There's very little food that would be utterly taboo in my house (but then I'd never even seen a turkey twizzler before last night!) for precisely that reason. Ds has tasted chocolate, for example, and isn't completely immune to the charms of a fishfinger!

Actually I think fish fingers now and again are ok. I do manage to cook my children good stuff - I was just making the point that I find it hard and I
a) am extremely organised, cook the night before, plan menus etc - we don't eat meat so have to put a bit of thought into alternatives
) have a partner who also cooks and helps with shopping etc
d) am not on a low income
e) am confident my kids will eat(most of)what I put in front of them

Must learn to preview...i
z) can't organise my posts properly either.