A Exceptional Chef

8/6/2019 A Exceptional Chef

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English Certification Paper

JAmiE OLiveR,aN Icon,a CheFyOu fill in tHe bLaNk

MAY 2008

English Certification Paper


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JAmiE OLiveR,aN Icon,a CheFyOu fill in tHe bLaNk

MAY 2008

TaBle oF cOnTeNt

Argument-page 4

Summary-page 5 Short biography: Jamie Oliver-page 6

TV career-page 10 The show that made him famous: The

Naked Chef-page 10

Other shows-page 12

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Lobby for healthier diets in schools-page 14

Jamies school dinners-page 15

Family life-page 19 Personal developments-page 20

Jamie, a cartoon character?-page 22 Criticism-page 23

Conclusion-page 24 Bibliography-page 25

Argument

I remember the first time I saw Jamie Oliver. It was aSunday afternoon and I had just turned on the television set,when I came upon a nice cooking show. Because I consider myselfthe kind of person that enjoys cooking, I decided not to changethe channel. Not before long I was hooked and watching the showbecame a routine.

Jamie Oliver is the name that most people associate withcooking, but he has now become an icon of energy and spontaneity.

His desire to improve and help, make him an example worthy offollowing. That is why I am now one of those that considerthemselves part of the phenomenon called Jamie Oliver.

Jaimes ability to prepare the most complicated recipes asif he was making an omelet shows his native talent to presentthings in simplified way. He applies this principle in all the

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projects he becomes involved in, whether he is presenting hisrecipes or promoting a healthier food diet in schools, he lets usbelieve that nothing is impossible. That is why Jamie Oliverspresence in our lives, through his shows, recipes and daringdevelopments, encourages us to follow our dreams, by succeedingin the fields that we enjoy.

I dont know what Jaimes recipe for success was, but bylooking at the story of his life I can say that the most importantthing is never to give up, put on a smiling face and know that thebest is to come.

Summary

This paper tries to outline the phenomenon of Jamie Oliver.He ended up becoming an icon of the British culture by remindingus that cooking is meant to be fun and the food that we eat

healthy.In the first part of my certification paper I will presentJamie Olivers short biography, outlining the moments in hischildhood spent with his parents in their pub The Cricketersand the way they influenced him in choosing this career, in thecooking industry. His television career started by chance, whenhe was spotted by a producer and offered the role of The NakedChef. This was the beginning of what Jamie Oliver would become,

a world remounted chef, with strong philanthropic projects. Theconclusion would be that it was his destiny to be discovered andintroduced to the public.

The second part focuses on Jamie Olivers private life andhis career developments, especially on his fight against unhealthyfood in schools. The actions that he had decided to take,

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concerning the diets of school children, are the ones that havetransformed him into a symbol of the British culture.

In the final chapters I will present the criticism thatJamie Oliver has received, and will tryto determine whether theyhave made him less of a symbol for Great Britain.

-Short biography: Jamie Oliver-

James Trevor "Jamie" Oliver, was born on the 27 May 1975,and grew up in Clavering, Essex, where his parents, ran the "TheCricketers" pub. The use of quality fresh produce at the pub gaveJamie a love of good ingredients. From an early age Oliver helped in thepub kitchen; by the time he was 11, he was adept at vegetablepreparation and could chop "like a demon".

Recipe for success: Schoolboy Jamie Oliver with

his father Trevor

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For without the help of his parents - and their stringent views onhow family life should be - Jamie Oliver's extraordinary rise to famesimply wouldn't have happened.Jamie himself has always attributed hissuccess to their influence. They did, after all, run a country pub andrestaurant, and he was helping out in the kitchen almost as soon as hecould walk.

The Cricketers-the pub&restaurant owned by Trevor&Sally Oliver

Jamie says: I remember being fascinated by what went on inthe kitchen. It just seemed such a cool place, everyone workingtogether to make this lovely stuff and having a laugh doing it.When I

was about seven or eight, they let me peel the potatoes and pod peas,that kind of thing. A lot of the boys at school thought that cooking wasa girlie thing. I didn't really care, especially as I could buy the coolesttrainers with what I'd earned from working at the weekend.

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In 1989, Oliver formed the band Scarlet Division with friendLeigh Haggerwood, in which he was the drummer.

Scarlet Division was a band formed by Jamie Oliver (at age 13)and his friend Leigh Haggerwood in 1989. The two friends joinedforces with vocalist Louise Brannan, bassist James Bejon and aguitarist. They played many gigs in the United Kingdom throughout the1990s.

In 1996, Jamie was spotted by television producer PatriciaLlewellyn and was offered his own TV show called The Naked Chef andthe band (who were already playing the London gig circuit) were askedto perform in an episode.

Soon after, Sony Music offshoot "S2" signed them for a two singledeal after hearing the band's latest song, "Sundial". In October 2000,"Sundial" was released as a single and made position number 42 in theUK pop charts. The song was written by Leigh Haggerwood.

Unfortunately, lack of radio play meant that relatively few peopleheard "Sundial" and chart position 42 was perceived as a disappointing

result, considering Jamie's fame as a television chef. However thisresult could have been due to the record company's attempts to cash-in on Jamie's fame. British TV and radio stations would not take theband seriously because they assumed Jamie was jumping on the popband wagon - not realising that the band had actually been together forten years.

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Sony soon discontinued their promotional efforts, and Jamie'sagents decided he should quit the band. The rest of Scarlet Divisionwent their own ways.

The driving force behind Scarlet Division had always been LeighHaggerwood, a talented composer in his own right. He was alreadyworking on music for TV and film and in 2002 Jamie asked him tocompose the theme music for his new television show, Oliver'sTwist.The song was called "Just The Start" and it proved to be verypopular all over Dagenham. This prompted the band to get backtogether and perform it in the second episode of the first season ofOliver's Twist (the episode being entitled "Scarlet Division"). There

was also a later appearance in a series 2 episode called "The Session"where they performed the song "The Kiss Of Summer".

Studies and apprenticeship

Between the ages of 11 and 16 he attended Newport FreeGrammar School in Essex. At the age of 16, Jamie knew that he wantedto be a chef. So he went on to study at Westminster Catering College

and then to study in France, before returning to London to work ashead pastry chef for Antonio Carluccio at The Neal Street Restaurant.After The Neal Street Restaurant, Oliver worked for Rose Gray andRuth Rogers at the River Caf for three and a half years; Olivercredits Gray and Rogers with teaching him to create the fresh andsimple food which would become his signature.

The Neal Street Restaurant- the placethat launched Jamie Oliver

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-TV career-

When the producer Patricia Llewellyn arrived to film "An ItalianChristmas" at the River Cafe, she spotted Oliver. Jamie Oliver says:It was there that I first got in front of a TV camera. A documentaryabout the restaurant was being filmed and the editors decided to showa lot of this cheeky kid who was so into the cooking that he'd answerback to the crew. The day after the programme was shown, I got callsfrom five production companies all wanting to talk about a possible

show. I couldn't believe it and thought it was my mates winding me up!.

The River Caf-the place where Jamie was discovered

Patricia Llewellyn put Oliver in front of a camera and told him tostay natural, the result of which was the cookery programme, TheNaked Chef.

The show that made him famous: The naked chef

The Naked Chef (1998-1999) was Oliver's first series. Oliver hasfrequently admitted that he wasn't entirely happy with the title, whichwas devised by producer Patricia Llewellyn. The success of theprogramme led to the books Return of the Naked Chef and Happy Dayswith the Naked Chef.The idea behind The Naked Chef was to strip

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food down to its bareessentials - to provethat you didn't need todress up ingredients orbuy a load of fancygadgets to makesomething really tasty.Jamie states: Despitemy Nan's worries, itdefinitely didn't meanthat I was cooking in

the nude!. Thepopularity of the showgrew with everyepisode and the newlyacclaimed nacked

chef was on the road to success.Fast on the heels of the first series came the Return of

the Naked Chef. Again, it was packed full of the same stylish

food and London partygoers, but we also saw more of Jamie'sdomestic side, at home with girlfriend Jools and cooking on asmaller scale. The second time around, viewers loved the show andthe book, forcing Jamie into a whirlwind schedule of travellingaround the world to promote it.

After taking some time off, Jamie worked on his thirdseries, Happy Days with the Naked Chef,followed by a book with

the same name.

- Other TV shows -

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-Jamies Kitchen-

By 2001, Jamie felt that itwas time to leave The NakedChef behind, so in 2002 hestarted Jamie's Kitchen.

It followed chef Jamie Oliveras he attempted to train a groupof disadvantaged youth, whowould - if they completed thecourse - be offered jobs at

Oliver's new restaurantFifteen: I had always wanted topass on my passion for food andto help disadvantaged

youngsters.

Jamie admitted that:I took a huge risk, and regardless ofwhether the trainees could handle it, I wasnt sure if I could!But the risk was worth it. The restaurant is still up and running,.I'm really proud of them all and I'm so glad that it all worked outas I thought it was going to fall flat and break the bank at anyminute!

This was followed by -Return to Jamie's Kitchen- in2003.

-Jamie's Kitchen Australia- began in September2006 in Australia on Network Ten. Oliver visited Australia briefly

to launch the series, and then returned to London, retainingoverall control, but delegating management of the project inMelbourne to old friend, Melburnian chef Tobie Puttock. Theseries followed the training of a group of 16-24 year old

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Australians to become chefs in the new Melbourne Fifteenrestaurant.

In 2007 -Jamie's Chef- continues where Jamie's Kitchen

left off. Five years and fifty trainees later, Oliver's most recentseries aims to help the winning trainee establish their ownrestaurant at The Cock, a pub near Braintree in Essex. Thecharitable Fifteen Foundation retains ownership of the propertyand has provided a 125,000 loan for the winner, Aaron Craze, torefurbish the establishment. The series consists of three, sixtyminute, installments. Prior to airing, this was announced in thepress as "Cutting the Apron Strings".

-Olivers Twist-In his all-new series,

Jamie Oliver does whathe loves most: cook forhis mates. Frommusicians to fashionmodels to magicians,

everyone is invited backto the Oliver flat for ameal they'll neverforget. Follow Jamie onshopping expeditions tohis favorite stores andget tips and insight onhis selections. We see

Jamie out and about inhis favourite storeswhere he tells us what to look out for when shopping for ourfavourite foods. Jamie in his unique style then rustles up sometukka for his mates, and the party begins!

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-Lobby for healthier diets in schools-

Surely the man had done enough, but instead he plungeddeeper and deeper into the fundamentals of food and nationalnutrition. Jamie looked at what English children were being fedfor their school dinners: the menus featured items such asburgers, chips, pizza, fish sticks, potato smilies, turkey twizzlersand chicken nuggets. The closer he looked the worse it got, thecost of each meal could not exceed 37p , the dinner ladies werelow paid and under trained, all the food seemed to be

reconstituted, fried and reheated and, perhaps worst of all, thekids liked it. The problem that faced Jamie Oliver was nothingmore or less than re-educating the taste buds of a nation. Thedominant multi-national companies know that taste buds respondto food that is salty, fat and sweet so that's what they sell.Children brought up on this food lose their ability to enjoy realfood, they can't handle the flavors and textures of manyvegetables, fruits and spices and refuse to eat the nutrients that

may save their lives.He felt children deserved better and with all his

enthusiasm, energy, naivety and street smarts set out to do ithimself. He started with one school in Greenwich; it was acomprehensive school with about 1500 students with a good mixof ethnicity and socio-economic groups.

He faced many problems, from the personal, the schooladministration, and government authorities and especially the

children, that loved the junk food and refused to try somethingnew.

In the end succeed in achieving his goals: introducinghealthy food in schools.

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-Jamies school dinners-on Channel 4-

Jamie's SchoolDinners was alandmark four-episode documentaryseries that featuredTV chef JamieOliver attempting toimprove the quality

and nutritional value of school dinners at a typical British school,

Kidbrooke School in the London Borough of Greenwich a goalwhich ultimately lead to a broader campaign (called Feed MeBetter) to improve school dinners throughout Britain.

At Kidbrooke, Oliver first encountered the school'sseemingly fearsome head dinner lady, Nora Sands. Although thetwo clashed frequently over matters from kitchen technique toworkload, Nora eventually became Jamie's most ardent supporterthroughout the series and the campaign. Oliver had his work

cut out for him: firstly, the dailybudget for school dinners was amere 37 pence per child. Secondly,the students at the school were soused to eating processed junkfood that Oliver faced a studentrevolution when he banned junkfood.

Thirdly, Oliver's unconventional ingredients and meal ideasstartled the dinner ladies, increased their workload dramatically,and exceeded the allocated budget.

After a disastrous start at Kidbrooke, with students refusingto eat and dinner ladies threatening to resign due to overwork,Oliver organised a "boot camp" for dinner ladies in the borough,

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roping in the catering division of the British Army to demonstratehow to cook large amounts of food quickly and efficiently.

Realising that part of the problem with getting kids to eathealthier food was the food they were eating at home. He visiteda young boy's family and convinced them to try a healthier home-cooked menu for a week. Returning to Greenwich, Oliver faced astudent boycott of his new menu. He produced an education kit,and recruited children to work in the kitchen, demonstrating tothem exactly what went into chicken nuggets, and teaching themto identify vegetables. As the campaign gathered momentum,gaining increasing public support, Oliver approached members of

the government, to barrack for increased funding for ingredientsand staff wages in school canteens.Results of the show and campaign:

The British Government, and PrimeMinister Tony Blair promised to takesteps to improve school dinnersshortly after the program aired.271,677 people signed an online

petition on the Feed Me Betterwebsite, which was delivered to 10Downing Street on 30 March 2005.Certain junk foods (such as thenotorious Bernard Matthews "TurkeyTwizzlers" much derided on the

show) were banned from schools by their local borough or countycouncil. The Department for Education and Skills created the

School Food Trust to provide support and advice to improve thestandard of school meals.

-Jamie's Return to School Dinners-

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Starting in February 2006, Oliver returned to his crusadeto see how his flagship Greenwich school, Kidbrooke, wasprogressing. Overworked and under pressure, Nora reveals thatshe is losing money due to the decision to close the school tuckshop (which sold junk food and snacks), that she wasn't being paidfor the extra hours, and that she hadn't seen any of the

promised money. The end-of-year deficit is between 12000 and15000 (the school management declined to be precise, on theadvice of the local council), the children are slipping back intotheir old habits, and Jamie's new menu is losing popularity.

In response, Jamie organises a 'Junk Amnesty' wherein thechildren exchange their snacks and unhealthy food for tokenswhich can then be redeemed for healthier meals at a kiosk Jamiesets up in their playground.

Jamie then travels to Lincolnshire, where most of theschools have decommissioned their kitchens to save money. Hepioneers a project that connects the schools to local pubs,restaurants, and hotels, and to local farmers. Produce would besourced locally, cooked, and then taken to nearby schools by taxior volunteer drivers. In order to make the project viable, he hasto convince 90% of the local parents to participate.

A pilot scheme is started to provide Theddlethorpe and

Saltfleetby primary schools in Lincolnshire with hot meals, withthe help of a local pub. However, there are problems. Nora hashygiene concerns regarding the pub kitchen, and the pub cook hasbeen altering the recipes in an attempt to save money, whichJamie remedies by introducing him to a local supplier.

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Initial take-up is good, following a demonstration to parentsof a terms'-worth of junk food that their children eat (a plasticmat with a pile of chips, saturated fat, Coke, burgers, with agarnish of crisps and sweets), and a brief speech at the school'sEaster service.

To spread the word, Jamie organises a fte for localschools, suppliers and caterers in Lincoln Castle. There heencourages connections between parents, schools, and foodindustry representatives. The event ('Hot Dinners For Imps') is aresounding and overwhelming success, and garners support fromthe local council.

Results

In London, meeting first with Alan Johnson, the Secretary ofState for Education and Skills, and Prime Minister Tony Blair,Jamie secures promises of an additional 240M for 3 years, atrust to allow schools without kitchens to build, a pledge toconsider a series of training kitchens across the country, andcreation of a voluntary code of conduct concerning advertising of

junk food to children. Unfortunately there is widely visiblebacklash towards Jamie Olivers changes to the system, with veryvisible pages on social networking sites campaigning against him.

-Family life-

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Jamie Oliver and former modelJuliette 'Jools' Norton hischildhood sweetheart, weremarried in June 2000 and havetwo children - Poppy Honey andDaisy Boo.I met Jools when I was about16 years old and thought shewas quite tasty. I fancied herfor quite a while and ended up

pulling her (obviously because of the cooking, what else?).

I don't think I could have done it all without a really sturdyrelationship and home and family and friends.

Jools is quite easy-going and level-headed. Nothing reallyimpresses her, which is quite frustrating as a bloke! It's a goodgrounding for me and she's been there from day one. I thinkwhen you're going from place to place it's quite easy to havepeople latch onto you and love you, saying you're great when infact they just think you're famous. Jools thinks it's quite

important to keep it real.Instead the father-to-be said: 'We haven't got to names

yet, but the ones I've come up with have all been food-based. Ireally love the name Honey for a girl.' In fact their little girl wascalled Poppy Honey, with another flower name, Daisy for theirsecond daughter. The Olivers' spokesperson revealed thatDaisy's unusual middle name, Boo, is Jools' nickname.

What about dad?'I can't wait to have a family and neither can Jools, announcedJamie not long after their wedding. 'I think it would be the righttime soon because we're both young and I think that because I'm

young I'll be a wicked dad.' He'll be glad to have age on his sidewith those sleepless nights 'I sleep with my arm around her

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tummy,' he said during Jools' first pregnancy, 'and the othernight the bambino moved and woke me. I've made a few nicedishes in my time, but this has got to be the best one I've evermade.'

Ive made a few nice dishes in my time, but this must bethe best Ive ever made.,Jamie Oliver referring to hisdaughters.

-Personal developments-*Books Jamie wrote a total of ten books: Something for theWeekend, The Naked Chef, The Return of the Naked Chef,Happy Days with the Naked Chef, The Naked Chef Takes Off,Jamie's Kitchen, Jamie's Dinners, Jamie's Italy, Cook WithJamie, Jamie at Home . His latest book is Jamie at home thatis accompanied by a TV series. I'm so into the whole growingthing these days that it now seems strange that, having been a

chef for 16 years, I didn't get into it sooner. If I'd known howeasy it was I would have started ages ago. I always had a fewpots of herbs and salad leaves on my windowsill, but to have awhole load of beautiful things ready and waiting to be pulled outof the ground, or picked from a plant, just outside my kitchendoor is heaven! says Jaime.

*TravelsJamie's Great Italian Escape, was first broadcast on Channel 4 inthe UK in October 2007. It follows Jamie as he travels aroundItaly in a blue VW van (plus a trailer for cooking). Jamies tripwas his personal adventure to rediscover his love of cooking.

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*Giving back: Fifteen Foundation

In 2002, Jamie Oliver combined two ambitions: to open a top

class restaurant and to give disadvantaged youngsters the chanceto gain professional training that would set them up for anindependent, inspired and productive life. Five years on, Fifteen isstill achieving both, improving and expanding all the time. Fifteenis the name of the restaurants and the supporting charitablefoundation. The foundation's mission is to inspire disadvantaged

youth, including those withdrug or alcohol problems, the

unemployed and the homeless,to believe in themselves and thepossibility of becoming chefs.

The foundation aims toturn Fifteen into a global socialenterprise brand. December2004 saw the opening of asecond restaurant in

Amsterdam, with othersfollowing in Cornwall (May2006) and Melbourne, Australia(September 2006).

This year he is starring as one of the judges in the seriesThe Big Give hosted by Oprah Winfrey on ABC

- Jamie Oliver, a cartoon character?-

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So Jamie Oliver is to be turned into a cartoon chef. Eachof the 52 episodes made by Aardman Animations will be 11minutes long and will be aimed at seven to 11-year-olds.

Little J follows theadventures of ten-

year-old Oliver ashe seeks thesecrets of becominga great chef. He ishelped by adepressed ham-a

character that mayfail to entice oursympathy; E.coli is bad enough, but surely meat with mentalhealth issues needs to be put out of its misery. There's also ascientist called Eggs Benedict, who wears a chicken as a hat.

Oliver said: "I really want to pass on a little knowledge ina fun way, to really connect to the younger kids." "I can't tell youhow passionate I am about kids and food," Oliver added.

Miles Bullough from Aardman Animations said: "We werethrilled when Jamie approached us to collaborate on an animatedproject... We quickly agreed that we needed to make a show thatwas first and foremost a comedy, which would hopefully inspirekids to think positively about good food, even brussel sprouts."

-Criticism-In 2003, Oliver was ranked number 28 in Channel 4's poll of

"100 Worst Britons". The poll was inspired by the BBC series 100

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Greatest Britons. The poll specified that the nominees had to beBritish, alive, and not currently in prison or pending trial.

In 2005, Oliver was widely criticised for killing a fully consciouslamb on his TV show.

In 2005, Jamie Oliver embarked upon his school dinnerscampaign to improve the quality of food fed to pupils. Whilst thecampaign proved to be ultimately successful, at the time was a highlycontroversial shake-up for students and parents, some of whom werevocally and actively against the scheme. In September 2006,Rawmarsh Community School, South Yorkshire, UK, made headlinesafter a handful of parents revolted against Oliver's lunch scheme, in

which all 1,100 pupils on site were fed two portions of fruit and threevegetables every day, by delivering food from local shops to thepupils through the school fence. One parent dismissed Oliver's foodas "disgusting rubbish" and declared, "Food is cheaper and better atthe local takeaways.

Conclusion

Jamie Oliver is certainly a famous personality in GreatBritain. He has the right amount of what the British nation needs,although some have regarded him in a skeptical way, followingcertain accusations.

But it was Jamie Oliver who successfully battled forbetter meals in schools. In his television series "Jamie's School

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Dinners" the TV chef highlighted the shocking state of children'sschool meals. He thus raised the public awareness and due to hisefforts the UK Government promised to spend more money onschool dinners and even passed new laws. Since 2006 junk foodhas been kicked out of British school meals and at least twoportions of fruit and vegetable must be served per meal. Becauseof his commitment Jamie Oliver was named most "inspiringpolitical figure of 2005." Moreover Jamie Oliver established therestaurant-chain: "Fifteen". The celebrity chef employed fifteenunderprivileged youngsters and turned the majority of them intoprofessional cooks. The restaurant and its accompanying TV

series have both been immensely successful. Altogether thereare four "Fifteen"-restaurants: in London, Melbourne, Cornwalland Amsterdam.

Jamie shows us that all you need, in order to succeed is areal passion for what you are doing. And Jamie's passion hasalways been food and.

All in all Jamie Oliver is one of the celebrities that we arenot going to forget easily.

Bibliography

www.en.wikipedia.org

www.jamieoliver.com

www.bbc.co.uk

blogs.guardian.co.uk

www.jamieskitchen.net

www.speakwell.com

www.channel4.com

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http://www.en.wikipedia.org/http://www.jamieoliver.com/http://www.bbc.co.uk/http://www.jamieskitchen.net/http://www.speakwell.com/http://www.channel4.com/http://www.en.wikipedia.org/http://www.jamieoliver.com/http://www.bbc.co.uk/http://www.jamieskitchen.net/http://www.speakwell.com/http://www.channel4.com/


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