Here’s a potpourri of a few Jamie Oliver-related news items I wanted to share with you.
First, earlier today Jamie Oliver spoke about the global obesity epidemic to the One Young World summit in Zurich, Switzerland — his first public speech since his acceptance of the TED Prize last year, according to his publicity team. (One Young World is a group of delegates, all under age 27, drawn from all over the world to address critical, global problems. More on the group here.) When/if there’s video of Jamie’s speech, I’ll share it on The Lunch Tray. Meanwhile, in connection with the event, the Food Revolution Community has renewed its effort to gather over one million supporters for Jamie’s petition seeking better school food for, and the teaching of home cooking skills to, children.
Second, Mike McGalliard of LA’s Promise (who appeared on last season’s “Food Revolution” and commented frequently on The Lunch Tray’s recaps of the show) has a new post up on the Food Revolution website. It summarizes why he agreed to let Jamie’s cameras roll at West Adams Preparatory High School and what he feels the students got out of the Food Revolution experience. [Ed Update: Mike also has a separate post about his experience here (“Was It Worth It? My Fifteen Minutes, I Mean“), in which he mentions [hanging head in shame] my totally unwarranted, snarky critique of his wardrobe! You can read more about his experience at LA’s Promise on his new blog, Getting Schooled.]
And finally, a while back I told you how my son was learning to cook but I lamented the lack of widespread, basic cooking education in this country. Well, blogger Andrew Wilder of Eating Rules (a great blog, by the way) sent me a link to one of Jamie Oliver’s websites in the U.K. that’s a really fantastic resource for teaching home cooking skills. Apparently Jamie convinced the British government to make cooking instruction mandatory in public schools and his free “Jamie’s Home Cooking Skills” website – replete with how-to videos and hand-outs – can be used by teachers there to satisfy that educational requirement. While some of the recipes are pretty Brit-centric (bread sauce, Victoria sponge), the multitude of cooking skills he explains and demonstrates are universal.
I might be the last to know about the Home Cooking Skills site, which launched almost exactly a year ago, but I wish it were better publicized in the U.S. or that an American version could be created. At any rate, if you have a budding chef in your house (or just want to improve your own cooking skills) be sure to check it out.
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Dana Woldow says
More JO news: he may be planning to open a
his first-ever US restaurant in LA
http://tinyurl.com/3t67x5y
Donna says
A friend of mine is the CEO of Rouxbe (www.rouxbe.com). It’s a fee-based online cooking school. I’ve been thinking of signing on and watching with my daughter. They describe themselves as an online cooking school for anyone who wants to cook better, from home cooks to professionals. You might want to check them out.
Bettina Elias Siegel says
Will check it out!