Jamie Oliver: Making a positive difference

Jamie Oliver’s Bio

Born on 27 May 1975, Jamie took an early interest in food.  He grew up in Essex, where his parents Trevor and Sally own and run a highly respected pub/restaurant The Cricketers. His fascination for food continued to grow and at 16 Jamie left school and completed his training at Westminster Catering College. After spending some time working in France, followed by a stint at Antonio Carluccio’s Neal Street Restaurant, London Jamie joined the acclaimed River Café where he worked for three and a half years alongside Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers.

In 1997, Jamie Oliver was featured in a television documentary about the River Café. Soon after the documentary was aired, Jamie was offered his own television show and The Naked Chef was born which won him a BAFTA Award for the best television series in the Features Category in 2000.

Today Jamie Oliver is a phenomenon in the world of food. He is one of the world’s best-loved television personalities and has inspired people to spend more time enjoying being in the kitchen – and even start growing their own food!

Jamie Oliver’s Food Philosophy

“My philosophy to food and healthy eating has always been about enjoying everything in a balanced, and sane way. Food is one of life’s greatest joys yet we’ve reached this really sad point where we’re turning food into the enemy, and something to be afraid of. I believe that when you use good ingredients to make pasta dishes, salads, stews, burgers, grilled vegetables, fruit salads, and even outrageous cakes, they all have a place in our diets. We just need to rediscover our common sense: if you want to curl up and eat macaroni and cheese every once in a while – that’s alright! Just have a sensible portion next to a fresh salad, and don’t eat a big old helping of chocolate cake afterwards.

Knowing how to cook means you’ll be able to turn all sorts of fresh ingredients into meals when they’re in season, at their best, and cheapest! Cooking this way will always be cheaper than buying processed food, not to mention better for you. And because you’ll be cooking a variety of lovely things, you’ll naturally start to find a sensible balance. Some days you’ll feel like making something light, and fresh, other days you’ll want something warming and hearty. If you’ve got to snack between meals, try to go for something healthy rather than loading up on chocolate or potato crisps. Basically, as long as we all recognize that treats should be treats, not a daily occurrence, we’ll be in a good place. So when I talk about having a ‘healthy’ approach to food, and eating better I’m talking about achieving that sense of balance: lots of the good stuff, loads of variety, and the odd indulgence every now and then.”

Food Revolution

Jamie Oliver has worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the growing obesity epidemic that is a great threat to young children and subsequent generations. Jamie Oliver has had great success as a chef, entrepreneur and social activist. His passion for great food and cooking from scratch has always inspired people globally, and enabled him to highlight the importance of cooking skills throughout the world.

Jamie Oliver Foundation

The Jamie Oliver Foundation is a registered charity that exists to EDUCATE, EMPOWER and INSPIRE people of all ages to make better and more-informed food choices. Jamie Oliver’s Foundation aims  to arm people with the tools to make those choices and food is at the heart of everything they do. They want to instill positive eating habits that will last a lifetime; make good, clear information available and teach practical skills to as many people as possible; encourage individuals to get cooking from scratch; and inspire people to take greater control of their lives.

Fifteen

Fifteen is a restaurant group that uses the magic of food to give unemployed young people a chance to have a better future.

Jamie Oliver’s  School Dinners / Feed Me Better (established 2003)

The 2005 TV show, Jamie’s School Dinners, uncovered the appalling quality of food served in school dining halls across the UK and subsequently Jamie Oliver started the Feed Me Better campaign, a petition to demand government intervention, funding and training for dinner ladies to address the problem.

Jamie received 271,677 signatures and in response the government established the School Food Trust whose mission is "to transform school food and food skills, promote the education of health of children and young people and improve the quality of food in schools."  

Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food (established 2008)

Ministry of Food is all about getting people cooking again. Jamie wants to show us that anyone can learn to cook – and that it’s fun, cool, can save you money and help you, your family and friends to live a healthier life. It also promotes the idea of Pass It On, to encourage people to share their cooking skills with other people and teach their friends what they have learnt.

There are Ministry of Food centres in several locations around the UK, and the first centre in Australia will be open very soon.

Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution

Jamie’s Food Revolution combines the ambitions of both Jamie’s Ministry of Food and Jamie’s School Dinners and exists to tackle the obesity epidemic in America.

The campaign seeks to educate people about food and cooking, address the quality of the food served in school lunch halls and inspire food retailers to provide good quality, fresh, local food to their customers.

The campaign is funded solely by donations made from the USA.

Kitchen Garden Projects

Jamie Oliver  teaches  primary school children the joys of growing and cooking their own food in the hope that it will plant a seed for positive eating habits that will last a lifetime. He believes  it is absolutely vital to teach children about food and practical cooking skills from a young age in order to have any long term affect.