Today sees the launch of Jamie Oliver’s latest healthy eating campaign. Supported by a four-part TV documentary series and website, Jamie’s Ministry of Food is designed to get people cooking and help them live a healthier life.
Motivated by a desire to address rising obesity in Britain, Jamie has spent the last year visiting the town of Rotherham to teach a class of people how to cook. He also set up a Ministry of Food Centre in the town to give non-cooks a place to learn how some basic kitchen skills.
A fundamental part of Jamie’s campaign is the Pass It On website. So far, over 10,000 people have registered on the site, each promising to cook a recipe and pass it on to two other people. Jamie’s looking for thousands more to do the same and really make a difference to people’s eating habits.
As of today, the site will feature video recipes from Jamie’s Ministry of Food show, kitchen tips, news stories about the campaign, up-to-date information on how the Pass It On chain is doing and much more, including a mobile website that will enable aspiring cooks to access recipes and shopping lists on the go.
The TV Show would love to know what you think of Jamie’s latest campaign – have you signed up to Pass It On? Do you agree that something radical needs to be done to address Britain’s obesity problem? Do you think a series like this can make a difference and inspire people to get cooking? Check out Jamie’s Ministry of Food tonight at 9pm and let us know what you think!
Commentsoldest first
There is no excuse for people not being able to cook simple meals. I was never taught how to cook but I soon realised that I could not afford to live on takeaways so I quickly learned. These people are profoundly lazy. I cannot believe that parents cannot be bothered to cook for their kids. Jamie Oliver is pandering to these people and making excuses for them. Most of them seem to be on benefits so they are obviously getting too much if they can afford so many takeaways and what are they doing all day that they cannot even cook beans on toast for their kids.
Anyone who can afford to spend £12 a night on takeaway food, dress their children in designer tracksuits, own huge flat screen TV’s & 8 burner range cookers and smoke can afford to eat like kings! Eating well is not determined by your wealth or class but by knowledge and the desire to do it. Jamie can only do his bit and all credit to him, he is fantastic. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it eat well! I fear for society in this country.
Love Jamie but deeply disappointed that he has sunk to using foul language in his programme. Big mistake Jamie! Leave that muck to Gordon and give us what we really seek - the real you! Your approach is fab and your attitude’s right on! Just don’t fall into the Yob Pit but give us a programme that is challenging - yet free from verbal filth.
Mike L
Jamie, Jamie - Great programme except the torrent of offensive language from you, why follow the foul mouthed Gordon Ramsay, you have no need to. Do you not realise you have loads of fans under 12 who will have been watching your programme in their bedrooms, please do not encourage them to use this language.
I totally agree with Catherine this show is an outrage and made my blood boil. You can get a cookery book from the library and learn simple recipes, feed your family for a fiver has been advertised by Jamie so there is no excuse to spend £12.00 per day on takeaways, get of your big leather sofa and stop watching you huge wide screen TV and get a job and take care of your children. Not providing a balanced healthy diet is neglect.
I have been a fan of Jamie’s since day one, but am very disappointed with the foul language used during this programme. Had it on series link for recording, but am now deleting this.
I turned to Jamie’s new program and was assaulted by foul language from the outset. Foul language is designed to offend … why do it? Perhaps he needs educating in adjectives that can be powerful without the depravity.
I just want people to know that Jamie has picked the roughest areas in Rotherham to film in.
Living in Rotherham myself i feel like we’ve all been made out to be uneducated, fast-food eating slobs who can’t even boil water. It’s a disgrace, the majority of people aren’t even like that.
Fair enough, people in those areas might have trouble cooking, which is why they’ve decided to film there, but in that football stadium place Rotherhamers are made out to be a bunch of louts.
I KNEW I shouldn’t have watched this, I knew i’d get annoyed at how Rotherham is portrayed.
And the swearing is awful, why is he trying to be the stressed Ramsey style chef when he’s clearly not like that?
I like Jamie Oliver, but i’m disgusted with this programme.
As i live in rotherham and i am not just sayin this cos of me.
Me and my friends felt that jamie was calling us all fat I AM 6 1/2 STONE fat u deccide.
The VAST majority of rotherham KNOW how to cook. We have cooking lessons at my school ( Wath comp )
Jamie was a DISSCRASE !!!!!!!
I too was amazed when I heard Jamie Oliver use four letter words at the start of this programme. I gave him a second chance because I felt he wuild not sink to Gordon Ramsey’s level in front of the families - I was wrong so I turned to snsother programme. What a pity. I am sure this type of programme will be very informative and helpful to a lot of people but sadly I refuse to watch it unless he cleans up his act.
I fully support Jamie’s campaign but his programme was marred by his foul language. Does he speak like that in front of his two young children? Would he be happy for his daughters to use that kind of language? As a very influential person, he has a duty to set a better example on TV.
i can not believe the stereotypical onesidedness that this programme has portrayed, i have lived in rotherham all my life and although we were not wealthy we have always had balanced meals sat at the dinner table which i continue to do with my children.
the video clips of the area all came from a small area of the borough (and some from the industrial areas of sheffield!)that are unfortunately still quite run down, but by no means are they a full reflection of the town. it is very saddening that programme makers would stoop to such levels of shock tactic to “sell” a programme. shame on Jamie Oliver for allowing it.
i think its brilliant that jamie is doing this i will definately be watching and taking part i have a two year old daughter and my mum never taught me to cook and id lov to cook good food for my daughter and for her to learn to cook as well will be a brilliant life skill
Just watch the show and when jamie went back to see if that girl had been cooking, she said she could not afford it. She got upset and lit a cigarette. My god at over £5 a packet you can feed your kids on that. Takeaways are going to be more expensive at £10 a pop, so my advice is stop smoking and get back to cooking for your kids and you will be better for it. Not a critisism just an observation.. good luck girl
i am from rotherham and would just like to point out that the way in which rotherham was portrayed in this programme is comletely misleading.
we are not all ’scrubbers’ that can’t cook!!!!!! (as a child my mother cooked a meal EVERY day for our family)
i understand the point jamie is trying to make in the programme, but choosing the roughest area’s of rotherham to film is not a fair representation of the town.
anyone that can afford to spend £12 a night on takeaways can afford to go to the shops and buy healthy food. to me this programme only highlights the lazyness and lack of prorities of the minority of the population of rotherham!!!!!!!!!
I love this programme and the website. I am right behind Jamie Oliver, not only Ministry of Food, but forcing the Government to give our children nurishing school dinners. I don’t watch many cookery programmes, but this programme is more about improving our health. I used to reach for the micro meal when I finished work, but when I had my daughter (now 5yrs) and I simply thought more about what nutrients and vitamins we are putting in our bodies. I wouldn’t say Im a great cook, but I will definitely be cooking the meatballs and pasta with her - making it fun, but educating her for the future.
Julie Wilkie, Sunderland
I’m the commissioning editor for this programme and I wanted to say a big thanks to everyone who’s left a comment. I’m really proud to be part of Jamie’s latest campaign. Although he has a tough time he’s really changed the way so many people feel about cooking fresh food. Even me! I realised that I wasn’t really teaching my two boys to cook so we’ve started doing cooking lessons once a week. Thanks again for taking the time to leave your comments. Also, there’s a brilliant website where you can get actively involved in ‘pass it on’ on the channel 4 website. Its really worth having a look.
Wherever we live in the UK each area has good bits and bad bits. To make the most impact for the show it is obviously going to go to an area alike to that is shown on the television. We as a nation and communities need to support people who have additional day to day problems, instead of blaming them for being selfish - it is down to education (in all aspects of their lives) where the heart of the problems lie and JO is trying to address just one of these issues through his show. Stop being picky.
Me - single full-time working mother, who has cooked healthy food for my daughter from weaning. I find time to cook when sometimes it feels like a chore and i am knackered. Practise, knowledge, creating good habits and encouragement.
The people of Rotherham and all the people,including young children, who watched this series will remember that it is OK to use obscene words at anytime, anywhere in front of anyone,long after they have forgotten what the series was supposed to be about.
Commissioning Editor: Just what were you thinking about letting this series go out?
Very disapointed that Jamie resorted to using such obscene language not a very good example for both the families taking part and viewers. Channel 4 would not have to look very far to find excellent Yorkshire tv cooks who do not use foul words to get across their culinary skills. I will not be watching Jamie again.
Really enjoyed this show and good on Jamie for doing something that the government should be doing! (again!)
Its not just the cooking though, some of the families would find an incentive to cook more if the myth that fresh fruit and veg and healthy choices are more expensive than junk food is laid to rest and they are shown how to be thrifty and stretch the food budget by planning their meals etc.
If Jamie really wanted to understand how hard it is for these people to manage he could try feeding his family healthily on a budget for a week and do a supermarket shop without his car, if he can manage it he can prove it can be done!
I think what jamie is trying to do is great and will be tuning in next week.
i’m from rotherham and cook every night fo my family and teach my kids to cook healthy food, i agree there are familes out there with appauling eating habits that need changing my mum died when i was 17 and i taught myself to cook! i sometimes have to question jamie olivers motive when a book comes out from the series! because he struggle or rarely puts a contrast in his programmes like pointing out good cooks in rotherham!
Jamie has to keep up his campaigns to keep food and nutrition at the top of the political agenda.
I say to Jamie “please don’t get ground down. It is very hard to keep on campaigning when you could just close your door and have a very comfortable life with your family but you are changing the way we see good nutrition in schools, prisons, hospitals and homes. Politicians wouldn’t put any time into this if you were not on TV making it “fashionable” to put money into the nation’s nutritional health”.
This programme is patronising drivel.
I agree with the comments about swearing, do the scrptwriters just leave a blank saying ‘insert swearing for effect’?
Thankfully someone is finally addressing this problem; and thankfully that person is Jamie. Having been involved in catering for some 25+ years I have noticed the decline in basic cooking skills. Many of my daughter’s age group (mid 20’s) now of course have children and, not having been taught to cook at school, they cannot pass the skills on to their children or indeed feed them a healthy diet. I have previously had to live on the benefits system and can say quite honestly that with some knowledge,some skill and some imagination anything is possible; more than that, it is also enjoyable.
If there was ever to be a similar project in my current home city of Norwich, I’d gladly lend a hand.
Can’t abide the foul langauge any longer. I was watching with my kids and had to turn off. It’s totally unnecessary and, I’m sure, puts off families - the key audience Jamie is trying to reach. What a shame! What a waste of a good idea!
Why can’t these people take personal responsibility for themselves. If someone can’t cook - go to a library and get a cook book. Loads of people do not have cookery lessons but can manage to do the basics. People like Jamie Oliver are encouraging people to always rely on others. It is astounding that parents would feed crap to their kids and would continue to do so until Jamie Oliver teaches them how to cook. This has nothing to do with stupidity or poverty but due to a culture where the people expect the government and others to take responsibility for their lives. It is no coincidence that many of these people are on benefits.
Well done Jamie! He really is a Saint.The only criticism is that he swears too much,but i guess that could be an attempt not to appear like a southern ponce.What he is attempting is very laudable, and I hope the Government and Councils fully support it.It will pay for itself many times over with a healthier,leaner Nation!
Jamie’s foul language is spoiling this programme for me.Would he like people swearing in front of Jools and his children,I think not, there is just no need for it.
Why is he allowed to swear and so often on TV, it is an awful example - I just dont need to hear his foul mouth, it has nothing to do with providing food recipes.
Foul language - blame the producer who must want to lose his audience - didn’t bother watching this week, I guess thousands of others didn’t too.
Jamie Oliver’s language on Jamies Ministry of Food is a disgrace. Every other sentance has an expletive included in it and he talks to the people of Rotherham as though they are idiots. I would like to see him pull the same act in another allegedly snip southern area of the UK. You should haul him in and tell him to improve his language and attitude forthwith. At the moment he is degrading himself & making Channel 4 look stupid. Pity he cannot abide by your “Comments Policy” in his broadcasts !
I agree with Mr Andrews on Jamie Oliver’s programme. I am a Food teacher and really passionate about getting the nation to cook but I cannot show this programme to my classes due to the foul language that Jamie has decided to suddenly use in a bid to become as popular as other TV chefs. He teaches other adults to cook without having washed their hands, nor asking them to wear an apron so putting people at risk. He should know better. The idea and concept is good but the presentation and thought is lacking.
I am so dissapointed at Jamie’s use of foul language when it’s totally unnecessary throughout the whole programme. Why should I watch a programme that has so much interest and be bombarded with so much swearing? What is going on at C4? Is there no control being exercised?
Has Channel 4 re-invented Gordon Ramsey in the form of Jamie Oliver. As the content of the programe is supposed to be vital for the future health of the british public, I would have thought that involving younger members of the family would be a step in the right direction. But, how can any responsible parent allow their children to watch this programe when, almost every sentence that Jamie speaks contains the “F” word. One television programe is telling us to teach our children respect and another that is supposed to tell us how to live a better life is sensationalised with foul language. I am not a miserable old man! only a concerned family man.
We as a family have watched Jamie Oliver on TV from the time that he first started presenting but, I think that he has ran his course as far as family TV is concerned.
I fully support Jamie’s attempts to get the nation cooking fresh food. However, I’m rather sick of the nation’s contstant excuses linked to time and financial constraints. When I was starting out in adult life I didn’t have a penny to my name. If I ever had a takeaway or ready meal it was a treat. Far less expensive to buy fresh produce and cook. Secondly, since when was working a constraint? I have never not worked yet I have always cooked. How much of your precious time does it take to make a basic stew which consists of chopping a few veggies throwing them in a pot with some meat and stock and leaving the oven to do all the hard work?
I have the same problem as Mrs Ainscow above. I am a literacy teacher in a local college in Wales and would love to use parts of Jamie’s programme for project based work in my class but am unable to due to his bad language. Why does he, and the programme makers, see it as necessary? I am not prud but watching it just frustrates me - it’s a very good idea that has been wasted. Also if the bad language was removed it could be shown at an earlier time when more people would be watching.
Having admired Jamie for a number of year.We are extremely disapointed to hear such unnecessary foul language.
A good programme ruined.We will no longer watch him unless he stops this.Put him on before 9 pm
Jamie seems to come across like he’s looking down on the people he meets on his shows. He eats healthy(doesn’t look healthy) but swears like a trooper. I don’t swear and i don’t want to hear it on my tv screans, epecially by someone preaching about how bad we are if, we eat crips etc. My children eat balanced food. I cook from scratch, and never buy ready meals. I was lucky my mum taught me, as she was a cook, and doesn’t swear either. I think helping people who can’t cook or don’t cook much, is great, but this has to start at school, my friend couldn’t cook, but she was lazy, we have the internet, we have books, we have endless cookery shows.
Its also not about poorer backgrounds and lack of money, because where i live, people have money, they can afford to shop well, they have the nice home, and lifestyle, but when there children come to play, they only want nuggets and chips or smilie faces, never bought them until i had children visit from school. Everything is to spicey or flavoured for them, this is parents not introducing new flavours at the weening stage. I really think you need to start young, so parents don’t parce on there fussy habits to there children. Jamie thats your market, the toddlers. They are the future.
What I respect about Jamie Oliver is that he uses his celebrity status to effect positive change in the community through working on projects like this latest series, with people from the most deprived areas/backgrounds. He seems to very effectively, change entrenched thinking on food and through that, change people’s lives for the better, without being patronising or arrogant. That in turn has an impact on the people who hold the power to really change things. Fantastic! He has managed to get people talking and get councils, then government, recognising the ridiculous state of bad health that has been brought about through processed ‘food’ taking over as the means of feeding a nation. The processed food industry has got away with selling floor sweepings laced with additives manifesting as food for too long.
All you people complaining about Jamie’s foul language need to get over it and watch the show for its merits. Jamie is trying to make a change for the better, who cares if he swears every now and then because his passion for the cause gets the better of him? Its a programme for adults anyway so kids shouldn’t be watching it. Narrow-mindedness like this is why it is so difficult to make positive changes in this world. Why focus on his swearing rather than all the good he is doing?????
At last, a reality show that has a point to it. Jamie doesn’t give up, in his mission to get us to eat well, and the effect on Natasha, Claire and Mick is amazing. The beauty of the smiles on the faces of Natasha and Claire, in this last episode, for me is an antidote to boredom with all those other shows that intend to change people’s lives and only change their outward appearance. The girls became two lovely, confident young women and their children will benefit enormously. I’m sure the whole town will change for ever.
Well done Jamie. I’m convinced!
i think that the pass it on scheme is a very good idea. I could’nt believe that there were people that didn’t know how to cook. My mother taught me to cook, and i am teaching my children to cook my youngest is 8 and he knows how to cook scrambled eggs but some people and the age of 40 don’t even know how to do that. Keep up the good work jamie.
Congrats to Jamie Oliver, When I first watched the series, I found it hard to believe that there were people out there who actually fed their kids take-aways everyday. It would be easy to adopt a holier that thou attitude towards them, but instead I realized that they were a product of their environment. I was so impressed with debbie who really made an effort and showed that you can change your life, no matter where or what circumstances you come from. I was moved to tears when Jamie offered her help by sorting out a creche for her and suggesting she pursued a career in cooking. Well done Debbie, I was soooo proud of you. You seem like a dead sound person. More power to you. Another fav of mine was MICK the miner. What a cool guy. He took up the challenge and ran with it. He also has a really nice, warm smile. You couldn’t help liking the guy. All I can say about Julie is that she really started to annoy me with her constant negativity. Talk about failing before you begin. She also seemed like a laugh when she wanted to be. As for me. Even though I never lived on take-aways. The proramme got me excited about cooking and now I’m constantly using the recipes and tweaking them to my own tastes….. I already have a signed copy of the book and I never buy cook books. Thanks a mill Jamie, I think what you and the participants in the programme have achieved is amazing. Donna, Ireland.
to be honest i thought i would find fat morons on benefits the most
annoying part of the show but im afraid i found jamies behaviour worse.
jamie oliver seems to have taken on a different persona. All of a sudden he has turned into some self righteous
preacher with a massive ego. there is no doubt that his intentions are good but does he have to act like
such a pompous twat at the same time? swearing does not bother me but in this instance i think that he is
trying to be a bit too much like gordon ramsay which i just find a little embarressing for him. parhaps it is because ramsay’s
tough approach to people in shows like kitchin nightmares was so successfull jamie feels that he needs to emulate this
in order for people to listen to him. i thought that perhaps i was the only
person who felt like this as everyone seems to love jamie oliver but i have found that many people share this
view. Im afraid i can watch the show anymore as its just way too irritating.
Community food projects are fabulous but funding is always short term and delivery often involves volunteers, who rarely receive enough encouragement. Many such projects are just not sustainable. This is why i am so excited by Jamie’s Ministry of Food, can he really roll this fabulous project out when the cameras go away? Cash is tight in Rotherham and I have first hand experience of the difficulty in trying to buy a fresh carrot, never mine basil, when I forgot something for a day of primary kids cookery demos in Rawmarsh comprehensive (2002). My only criticism is that we didn’t see any of the local shops (or did I miss this bit) it isn’t just about affordability and cookery skills (lack of) BUT accessibility of decent raw ingredients. Anyway, good luck to Jamie and yes, I think that the camera does help. Last month I did some cooking with a class of primary school children, snippets of which, were aired on the radio and I was amazed by just how many folk heard the programme – the media is powerful.
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