Jamie Oliver has developed into one of the fresh produce industry’s heroes over the last decade, helping to promote the message of fruit and vegetables to some of the world’s key decision makers. But despite juggling the management of dozens of restaurants, endorsements and the pursuit of a healthy eating culture in the US through Jamie’s Food Revolution, the part-chef, part-entrepreneur’s passion for fresh produce remains as strong as ever.
While Oliver’s days of being known as The Naked Chef may be over – with the celebrity now more renowned for his numerous, fully clothed, visits to 10 Downing Street – his mission to improve the health of the nation continues to spark debate. And he insists the fresh produce industry could do more to promote itself, calling for producers to look closer to home.
He explains: “One thing that I think the fresh produce industry could do is look more closely at what its workforce is eating. I think there’s an opportunity for businesses, big and small, to look within themselves and ask how many of their staff are eating takeaways at lunchtime or off sick with diet-related problems. If your staff are well looked after, then they’re bound to be better motivated and that’s good for them and good for your business.”
With the government announcing that only 22.5 per cent of schools are currently providing the minimum one portion of fruit and veg per pupil every day, as well as various public healthy eating initiatives failing to gain any real momentum, Oliver maintains that the fight to better the standard of food in British schools is still progressing.
Many still remember Oliver’s 2005 school dinnerstelevision campaign and images of parents defiantly handing out junk food to their children through the school gates, but he argues that the UK is still heading in the“right direction”.
“We’ve already got an agreement with education secretary Michael Gove for cooking lessons to go into schools from September 2014, which is a big step in the right direction,” says Oliver, before admitting he still doesn’t completely trust the government. “But there’s still a long way to go and I’m carefully watching to make sure that the detail is right and that the government doesn’t try to wriggle away from some good, much-needed work in school food.”
Another passion project for Oliver is his Ministry of Food initiative, with centres set up across the country designed to teach locals the basic skills of cooking and preparing healthy food. DEFRA recently announced that the rate of 5 A DAY consumption among UK women and men had fallen by a respective rate of three and four per cent since 2006, and as a result, Oliver believes now is the perfect time for the project to receive government funding.
“There’s definitely a desire among communities to learn basic cooking skills and people are coming away from these lessons with a life skill that means they can feed their families better and save money. I’d love the government to really get behind us with more force as we’ve been going for five years now and it would be great to have them invest something towards getting even more centres across the UK.”
According to Oliver, a snacking culture has engulfed the UK, with adults eating takeaways and junk food at an alarming rate. “Treats have now become everyday thingswith people getting fast food for lunch three, four or even five days a week, and kids not eating any fruit and vegetables from one week to the next.”
Refusing to pin the blame on his fellow celebrity chefs and their questionable promotion of overly indulgent foods – hello Nigella – Oliver says his food will now become more “transparent” with recipes and restaurants, such as the Jamie’s Italian chain, including more detailed calorie information. That transparency includes plans for TV, with Oliver exclusively revealing to FPJ, in-between praising the rich versatility of European varieties of fruit and veg, that the world of vegetables could be the subject of a future programme.
“Although there’s nothing set in stone yet, I think that embracing the wonderful world of vegetables and all the amazing dishes you can create with them is an idea that has been floating around for a while and will definitely be something I look into,” he adds.
With a new book set for release this year, which Oliver says is all about showing readers how to be clever at the supermarkets by buying cheaper and wasting less, and several new food products to add to his various supermarket lines, 2013 is set to be another busy year for the A-lister.
However, you can’t help but imagine one way in which Jamie’s life could get even busier – what would be his approach if he were health minister?
He replies defiantly:“I’d spend the first six months just listening to people like doctors, teachers and those who run food companies and supermarkets, to try to work out the best and quickest way to solve the nation’s obesity problem.”
Fictional political roles aside, Oliver believes a ‘hands-on’ approach is crucial in encouraging children not only to eat, but prepare, fruit and vegetables from an early age. And the 38-year-old father-of-four insists that the Ministry of Food centres can help to instill a healthier mentality among the general public for generationsto come.
He concludes: “The key factor is giving people ownership over cooking great food and that’s the same for adults as it is for kids.The minute you get people involved, hands-on, so they can touch and smell the food they are making and consuming, you’ve won half of the battle. I appreciate that may be tricky for food companies because they want to invest in convenient things which are going to get a bigger financial return, but I think there is a lot to be said for the results of a hands-on approach.”
Watch out Jeremy Hunt.
