Alas Jamie is back on the tourist trail again, having left it behind completely in last week’s trawl through New York. This time it’s New Orleans – home of non-stop partying, barbecues on every corner and more gumbo than can possibly be consumed by the residents of one city.
New Orleans hit the headlines in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina ripped through the city, leaving 1500 dead and many more homeless. Some districts were engulfed by 15 feet of water, which tore houses off their foundations. Tourist areas were rebuilt, but some 5,000 people in the Lower Ninth Ward of the city lost everything, and today the area is practically a ghost town.
No It's Not Like Southend-on-Sea in New Orleans
“I want to see how food helps locals cope with disaster” seems to be the theme of the week. And it appears throwing a big, colourful party overflowing with Cajun and Creole dishes is the answer. Every fortnight the residents have a street party, known as a Second Line, to keep the community spirit flowing. Jamie wastes no time in setting up his own gumbo stall, “Essex-stylee”, right in the thick of things.
It’s a pity Jamie didn’t skip New Orleans entirely and spend the entire show touring towns that were also hit by Katrina, and more recently, Hurricane Gustav. Here are ordinary people in places that didn’t make the international news, but who also suffered huge losses. And still they rebuild, determined to stay in the place they call home. As one resident says “You never know when your last day is going to be so just enjoy today”.
And must every occasion Jamie gets near a stove be for a worthy cause? It’s a natural instinct to want to help those who have had some sort of misfortune, and it’s a fairly safe bet he’s better at cooking than construction, but taking charge of the menu at the re-opening of a restaurant hit by the hurricane is a bit too “wow, look what I can do”. Why not just sit back and learn from the locals instead of always taking centre stage?
How Close Would You Get To A Gator?
Perhaps his pride was a bit injured when a pair of 11-year-old girls proved old hands at alligator hunting while he, quite naturally, didn’t want to get close enough to a 9-foot gator to be its lunch. But this type of quirky moment is a lot more interesting than yet another parade in New Orleans, and it much more in keeping with Jamie’s philosophy of knowing where your food comes from. Was it necessary to have close-ups of the alligators being shot in the head, however – a warning at the start of the programme would have been useful.
If there are any more clips of Jamie wandering around drunk in future programmes can they PLEASE be cut now? Yes we know he’s one of the lads, but we really don’t need to see him falling down on national television. And the sight of him stuffing copious amounts of junk food down his throat doesn’t do much for his image either – everyone’s entitled to a Snickers, but not half the candy display all at once. Not a great example from the School Dinners campaigner.
Hopefully next week’s visit to Georgia will feature southern hospitality and some good soul food. We know you’re in there somewhere Jamie – you were brilliant in New York!
