4.08.2010

Thoughts on Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Sarah and I have been fans of Jamie Oliver for a while.  I think he got us when, during our brief stint with satellite, we were hooked on his show on the Food Network, Jamie at Home.  He's easy going about his recipes, and they are consistently simple yet very good and very tasty.  We don't own all of his cookbooks, but there are a few on our shelves, and more than one of his recipes has made it into "regular" status.

I wanted to take a minute and encourage folks to watch his current show on ABC - Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution (or the ABC homepage).  From the previews, I was pretty sure I was going to enjoy it, and I have not been disappointed so far.

In Episode 1, Jamie called a Bill Cunningham-esque radio host in Huntington (where the show is set) a bastard.  He was exactly right.  And he is consistently battling the refuse-to-change mindset of folks on the show, particularly one of the Debbie Downer cooks.  But sadly, the negative responses have been more widespread - if you happened to see Jamie on Letterman then you know what I mean.  Sad that Letterman's so cynical and can't get inspired by someone working so hard for positive change.

Episodes 2 and 3 have been solid as well.

Jamie says he "aims to anger viewers over the food system" - as well he should.  It is amazing that with all the wealth we have in this country, that we are feeding the crap we do to our nation's kids.  And to think, our elected officials have literally been bought into believing this processed food is the way to go, and the what to subsidize.  And beyond just food served at our public schools, read Yglesias on the even bigger picture of nutrition in America - it's a shame.

I could go on and on, but I'll keep it at that for today.  Now, take the 30 seconds to sign Jamie's petition, and then tune in for the show on Friday night at 9pm so that this gets some solid ratings and we get more useful TV in the future.

More on school lunches - One Tray, One Nation, LunchBox, and IATP Food and Society Fellows.

3 comments:

Sara Leah said...

Thank you! Thank you for sharing such awesome information. I've especially enjoyed Food Revelution. We've chosen not to have cable, but I've taken the time to check out FR on Hulu from your recommendation.

Gavin DeVore Leonard said...

Glad you're enjoying Jamie's show, and thanks for the comment! Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but the show is on ABC, not cable, so no need to Hulu (but no reason not to either :)). We're cableless ourselves!

Weekend Warrior said...

The most amazing thing I've learned yet from this show is that FRENCH FRIES counts as a VEGETABLE.
Just wow.