Are YOU offended by Jamie Oliver’s view on the way we eat?

Posted by heatworld on Wednesday 27 Aug 2008

Filed under: Jamie Oliver

My my, we thought Jamie Oliver was a man of the people and loved British culture (apart from those nasty school dinners, obviously), right down to that silly scooter of his. But now he’s caused a right old stink by telling French magazine Paris Match that he’s disgusted with the way us Brits live our lives. Even though he, um, is one. When asked about the fact 80 per cent of British people don’t eat around a table for dinner (well, we’ve got a perfectly good lap – and there’s TV to watch… with him on it, quite often!), he said “It's true in London and in the big cities of the north. It is connected to the new poverty. England is one of the richest countries in the world. The people I'm talking about have enormous televisions – a lot bigger than my own – the latest in mobile phones, cars and they go and get drunk in pubs at the weekend.” They go out and get drunk in pubs? Disgusting! But hang on, don’t Jamie’s parents run a pub? Anyway, he goes on… “Their poverty shows in the way they feed themselves. I found the cooking of people living in the slums of Soweto more diverse than ours.” OK, so he’s right that many people don’t eat brilliantly, but we’re still shocked that he’s been quite so scathing – especially since, only a few days ago, he caused outrage at the Edinburgh Festival by making a joke about the Holocaust. Um, good move, Jamie. So, do you agree with his comments on our diets or is he being a little bit harsh? Do tell. Meanwhile, we'll go to the pub for lunch and wash down 18 burgers with 72 pints, OK?