Jamie Oliver-Enemy Number 1

[Deuce Bigolo]

or telling it like it is?



Jamie Oliver roasts drunken slob Brits
By Europe Correspondent Emma Alberici
August 26, 2008 - 6:34AM
Source: ABC

Jamie Oliver attacks British booze culture.

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has offended his own country by labelling the British a culture of "drunks with diets worse than those found in the poorest slums of Soweto".

Not only did Oliver criticise the British, he did it on French soil.

Reigniting an age-old rift between the countries, one of television's most famous faces told a Paris magazine that people in the UK cared more about getting drunk than about eating well.

The celebrity chef said there was a better variety of food in South African slums than in English towns and cities.

He said the English spent money on big TVs, the latest in mobile phones and cars, and the rest on getting drunk in pubs.

[mrmcfister]

He's a national treasure and a good guy.He's entitled to his spats as are all of us!

[crofter]

now now Buttsie I think he is actually talking about "English Yob Culture" which I feel you Australians have been led to believe is a British problem, I can only reiterate that us Scots, Welsh and Irish are all tea total ... hick.
But seriously I would bet that that Jamie Oliver is basing his findings on his time drinking/working in England I would bet that he has not had too many nights out in Scotland, Ireland or Wales to judge what the drinking culture is like in those countries, so hence how can he be the voice of the "British" nation.

[BobB]

Or could it be that he has a new TV program about to be shown in France?

[Jonone]

Didn't Oliver make his name off the back of 'lad' culture circa 95 ? He wasn't complaining then.

[Deuce Bigolo]

Hes not trying to be a voice for britain just making a sweeping statement that drunken yobs put drink ahead of food.We've got the same problems in OZ.All part of our culture.Unfortunately somewhere between the generations the importance of real food got lost

I'm sure every country has those that choose to drown their sorrows instead of feeding their body properly,some more than others.

[Deuce Bigolo]

A better take on what he said



Oliver sticks knife into British food
26 August 2008, 1:08pm - AESTTell a friend
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has blasted his English homeland, saying it is a country full of people only interested in binge drinking and eating "bland" food.

In an interview with a French magazine, Oliver says he could find a tastier range of food in African slums compared to what is served up in England.

He argues the English have become too obsessed with big TVs, mobile phones and fast cars as well as getting drunk in pubs, all of which he says are symptoms of the "new poverty" emerging in Britain.

"I found the cooking of the inhabitants of the slum in Soweto in South Africa a lot more diverse than ours," he told Paris Match magazine.

"It's true! I'm going to be harsh, but I think a lot of English people's food lacks heart. It's bland."

Oliver, who wants to shoot a TV show in France, also noted that 80 per cent of Britons no longer bother to sit down at the dinner table for a meal.

"It's true in the centre of London and in the big northern cities," he said.

"It's linked to the new poverty.

"It's nothing to do with famine or war - quite the opposite. England is one of the richest countries in the world.

"The people I'm telling you about have huge TV sets - a lot bigger than mine! They have state-of-the-art mobile phones, cars, and they go and get drunk in pubs at the weekend - their poverty shows in the way they feed themselves."

When asked to compare British and French cuisine, Oliver said Britons had lost their gastronomic traditions.

"In the past, British cuisine was similar to Italian cuisine nowadays, without the pasta and risotto," he said.

"Steam cooking, grilled meat, herbs, spices - we used to cook fabulous dishes. It's all in the past!

"Unlike French people, and I regret it, we lost our traditions. In gastronomy, the world evolves and changes. And right in front of us, isolated from everything, you have France where nothing changes."

[JonnyHungwell]

Although I think Jamie 'O' Lover is a right old cunt, I agree with his comments.

[stevieq]

He's spot on, this country is nothing compared to other countries now, it's the pits.

They need to take the 'great' out of Great Britain, and call it 'YOB Britain.

[steve56]

i have a neighbour whos a chef he told me years ago Oliver is all bluff.