The UK is once again tearing its mouth at celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. The stumbling block this time around is Oliver’s newest ‘baby’ on TV, the cooking show £1 Wonders. In it he presents dishes that shouldn’t cost more than a pound per portion, i.e. around one euro. In the current time of crisis, this is a concept that everyone can really use. But instead of cheers, there was a shitstorm for the first show on Monday evening.
Jamie Oliver isn’t someone who works with tweezers in the kitchen, he’s a down-to-earth cook. He knows how to cook with simple ingredients. He learned his first tricks in the kitchen in his parents’ pub. He became known after he was discovered by the BBC and brought in front of the camera in the “River Café”, where he later worked. His TV shows and cookbooks made him a culinary superstar and rich. The “DailyMail” now estimates the fortune of Oliver, who was not born with the golden spoon, at 240 million pounds. And this is exactly where many viewers see a problem. A reproach: Oliver, whose own account is bulging, doesn’t really understand poverty. Has he lost contact with ordinary people?
How does healthy cooking work on a budget? Jamie Oliver wanted to show just that, “to give as much inspiration and confidence as possible to keep costs low and flavor high”. Whether it’s the meatloaf, the curry or the veggie lasagna, every dish featured on the show comes with salt, pepper and oil for less than a pound a serving. To determine the costs, he looked at the prices of the ingredients in the four major supermarket chains in the kingdom and calculated an average price. This was then converted to the portions. In addition, the recipes are designed in such a way that they can be “stretched” and thus last for a whole week.
A number of viewers had their doubts that this could be implemented in everyday life. What Oliver touted as £1 meals was “nonsense,” one viewer commented on Twitter: “What they forgot to say is that you have to spend about £50 at the grocery store first.” Or as another put it, “They’re sort of a pound a serving, not counting the stuff that middle-class people have in their pantries.” The new show is nothing more than Jamie Oliver dishing out his usual repertoire of pub fare – only this time topped with “a cynical austerity marketing.”
Among other things, Oliver gave the tip to use a lid when cooking with the pan. That saves energy. And when using the supposedly popular microwave, it became apparent that he does not use it when the cameras are off. That’s not how he normally cooks, he admitted. Watching Oliver microwave one-pound meals was “the most depressing thing I’ve seen in a long time,” one commenter said. Also, some wondered about the quality of the ingredients. “Where does the meat come from? What kind of quality is it?” asked one. Oliver did not provide any information on this on the show.
In fact, what Oliver demonstrated left quite a few with a bad aftertaste. Oliver performed in his usual good-humoured, lively manner, although “The Guardian” criticized whether that was appropriate for the “pauper’s kitchen” presented. He presented them as “an incentive, a pleasure”. Oliver himself openly acknowledged that cooking for under a pound has challenged him creatively, showing just how far his reality of life has grown from those of others who have to flip every coin twice. An imbalance that overwhelms the chef’s good intentions.
Jamie Oliver is what you would call a stand-up man. It was just three years ago that things suddenly turned very murky about the former beam man. The British celebrity chef and restaurateur had gambled, largely driven his business to the wall – ending with bankruptcy. That was the end for most of his restaurants, more than 1000 employees had to go. A treat for the less squeamish British media, who finally declared the audience’s favorite to be persona non grata. But he wasn’t impressed. He kept going and going. His latest cookbook “One” full of one-pot recipes has just been published. It was also recently announced that the chef is said to be working on a deal with Netflix.
Quelle: jamieoliver.com, DailyMail, The Guardian
