Jamie Oliver is a twat!!!

[MrsMertle]

Discuss......

Haven't watched it but that recipe doesn't exactly ease someone in if they've never cooked before.

However, I love Jamie Oliver. I know I don't actually know him but believe him to be a great role model and seems to be a lovely husband and father. A couple of people I know who have crossed paths with him say he's a nice guy.

I just think he does what he does for all the right reasons. He doesn't have to do it. I watched the 'Fifteen' series a few years ago and it was ovbious that the time he spends on helping others causes some tension in his marriage so it's not like it's all plain sailing for him - he genuinely wants to put the effort in.

I'm sure there's an element of making good TV etc in it though, otherwise yes, he would have simplified things slightly.

I don't understand how people necessarily have to be shown how to cook though. My mum isn't big on cooking and anything I cook now is what I have read a basic recipe for or asked a friend about. When I started university I struggled with those pasta mix things you can get where you just add milk!

£13.66 on tesco using savers where possible, acknowledging that tehre's be leftover salt / balsamic etc (skimping on eggs- barn not free range, and ready ground parmesan)

Not cheap then.....

I don't expect he is, I don't know him, however I would imagine his mother, wife and children adore him. I would if he;d come here to cook for me.

That's mad Peachy.

When I make meatballs I use far fewer ingredients

my first home ec lesson was tea and toast

Libraries are full of cookery books if you really want to make the effort and learn.

I don't know how they afford to buy takeaways 4 times a week ,surly they could do a weekly shop for the amount spent on takeaways.

I was gobsmacked when Jamie pointed out the box full of empty beer cans and cigerette butts outside that house,I am surprised he stayed as calm as he did.

well you've got to start somewhere!
possibly not with that meatball recipe though...
think the best thing i learned in home ec was how to make cheese sauce

i was ever so proud of my cheese sauce

a lot of what you learn in home ec isnt the food, its how to kneed / whisk / weigh isn't it?

A family of 4 could eat meatballs in ikea for that!

You'd be surprised how cheap a bit of meat and chips is.

There are some takeaways near to one of the secondary schools near where I live. They can get chips, a piece of chicken and a coke for £1.20 or a burger for £1 (ie, for less than a school dinner)

I haven't managed to watch yet (I was watching earlier on but he swore too much and my DD was prancing around) but I don't get the 'I can't cook' brigade. I'm by no means a good cook but even I can go to the butchers buy some meat, boil some spuds and steam frozen veg. All you have to do is read the back of a packet. Mince, pasta and a jar of Ragu isn't hard to do, it even tells you on the side of the jar.

peachy -i agree it should be about general techniques you can apply to lots of meals...ideally!

most pointless thing i learned to make was puff pastry
who the hell makes their own puff pastry-?

Cocolepew - I agree with you. I cook a lot of different things, most of require little skill ie. chilli, shepherd's pie, spag bol. It's hard to mess those meals up and yes, most jars have recipes on them so I am struggling to see that as a valid excuse.

I don't know anyone who has had recipes passed down from generation to generation and I don't know anyone who lives off takeaways every night and I'm talking about a wide range of people.

Plus, surely a tin of tomato soup heated in a pan and some crusty bread is better than a takeaway every night?? She will possess a pan, a tin opener.

I must admit I saw the first ten mins as was waiting for a film to start but I got annoyed with the lady who had the two children. She seemed likeable and that she wanted to change but I really could not afford to buy a takeaway for me, DP and his DD every night if I wanted to for a week, plus cigs for him and alcohol and keep a roof over heads!

I just felt that she could have managed to improve her children's diet without it getting to the stage of Jamie Oliver coming round. Someone mentioned libraries for recipes - I know meal planning can be complicated especially if you have small children with you but still....

I like Jamie. He's genuinely and authentically passionate about food and trying to get people to eat better.
My dh and I both grew up in poor families and ate proper home-cooked food. What has gone wrong with this country?

What's gone wrong? I think that's a whole new (interesting) thread tbh.

Anyway I have to go and feed my dc. I've been on here far too long and am gettin confused as to which threads I'm posting on.