Jamie's Ministry of Food in Rotherham, UK

Back in 2006, British chef Jamie Oliver tackled poor quality food in school cafeterias across Britain in his series “Jamie’s School Dinners”. As some students did not have a hot meal at home, he felt it was vital they should be getting quality, nutritious food at lunchtime rather than endless chips and processed stodge. He eventually obtained more government funding for schools to spend on meals, but his biggest challenge was getting the students to change their eating habits. Many were unwilling to try the healthier menus simply because they had never eaten them at home either.

Now in 2008, the British chef continues his crusade to improve the health of the nation’s children (and adults). With obesity levels rising, a junk food diet is becoming a ticking time bomb for children, leading to health problems later in life. As many schools no longer have cooking on the curriculum, the obvious place for children to learn is at home. But what if the parents have never learned to cook in the first place?

Try It And Pass It On

So Jamie has come to the Yorkshire town of Rotherham for his latest experiment – to get an entire town to teach each other to cook. Rather than being preached at by the government to eat more healthily, he feels it’s better if the message is being spread locally by friends, neighbours and family. “If you’ve got mates teaching mates then I think we’ve got a movement that can completely change the face of eating, shopping, living and health in Britain”

It’s not that the parents don’t care about their children. Natasha Whiteman, whose two children have never had a home-cooked meal, is worried about her 5-year-old daughter’s health. She knows a relentless diet of junk food is not good for their growing bodies, but she has literally never turned on a stove in her life. And with money in short supply sometimes it’s a choice between buying food and paying a bill.

Natasha is part of a group of 8 volunteers spearheading the “Pass It On” campaign. Each person in the group will learn 10 recipes, and one by one teach them to two friends, those friends will pass them on to two more, and so on. There will also be a food centre in the middle of town, with cooking demonstrations and recipes available.

A Great Idea – But Will It Work?

There’s no denying his enthusiasm, or commitment, but without the co-operation of the people in Rotherham this project hasn’t much chance of success. All Jamie can do is start them off with the basics, and hope that instils enough confidence in them to carry on and spread the “good word” to others. One town resident is not particularly confident – Julie Critchlow, one of a clutch of mothers who brought food from the local takeaway and passed it through the school railings to students who wanted nothing to do with Jamie’s healthy menus during the School Dinners campaign. “They will (do it) while you’re there, sucking up to you … but once you’ve gone, ah sod it, that’s what they’ll think”. Is she right?

The first of a four-part series, “Jamie’s Ministry of Food” promises plenty of highs and lows, and will have viewers crossing their fingers that the volunteers will spread the word and not give up. For more information, visit the website http://www.jamiesministryoffood.com/content/c4/home.html, featuring recipes from the show and how to take part in Pass It On.

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