[AOB]

The young will be better at different things. But long hours in hot kitchens is not one of them!

As he is a man who employs quite a few young people, how does he expect they'll react to that comment? If I were a young aspiring chef I wouldn't want to slog my guts out for a boss who thinks so little of me.

Besides most chefs do start pretty young, at the bottom of the heap, washing up and chopping veg then working their way up (not all of them go to a fancy cookery school and are offered a job on the back of that or leave to start their own restaurant). I'm sure many of his cookery heroes started that way.

Just because you set up Fifteen doesn't mean you can come out with any bullshit and expect people to ignore it, Jamie. Nor does the fact that many of those kids are from working class backgrounds make you an expert on how they live their lives or how their parents spend their money. I do enjoy that Charlie Brooker rant about Jamie Oliver, and it does remind you of the overblown the level of mawkish adoration he received at the time. I get the feeling he let that adoration go to his head.

In work, there are few things more demoralising and demotivating than a boss generalising negatively about a section of his or her workforce if you are one of them.

I refuse to accept that there aren't lots of his young British employees who put in many hours and graft day after day without slacking. I'd wager many do unpaid hours too. As you say, how will they feel? It doesn't matter if you are generally thick skinned to criticism, and know you aren't one of those referred to, because stuff like that hurts when you've grafted. You just think- "what's the point- I may as well just do the bare minimum cos the end result in the boss's eyes are the same either way."

In fact, it's worse for Oliver's employees as it was so public, those people work in places they may be seen by that very public. I expect some of the front line staff in his restaurants are going to be subject to occasional snotty remarks in the coming weeks from customers as a result of this, too. The dickhead.

[Kreuzberger]

Did I miss a forum message somewhere along the line about not liking fat people who may or may not be fat? I thought that was the mail's job.

Anyway, I am down to about 88kg at the moment. Can I still play or am I obscene?

[Esqui]

I don't think Oliver looks "grossly overweight" even in the 'fat' picture. Quite how we even got onto Jamie Oliver's weight, I don't know. Do you have to be thin to condemn peoples' eating habits?

[Kreuzberger]

I don't think Oliver looks "grossly overweight" even in the 'fat' picture. Quite how we even got onto Jamie Oliver's weight, I don't know. Do you have to be thin to condemn peoples' eating habits?

Yup. It helps if you're a mod or twelve. Better still, both.

[MisterMuncher]

FWIW, Fifteen is nothing special. The catering industry is full to bursting with kids who were either on course for disaster, or coming out the other side of it. It's potentially a decent career for anyone prepared to work their arse off regardless of qualification or prior misdeed. Fifteen did little or nothing most restaurants don't do anyway, just not on telly and over a longer timeframe.

[shyamz]

FWIW, Fifteen is nothing special. The catering industry is full to bursting with kids who were either on course for disaster, or coming out the other side of it. It's potentially a decent career for anyone prepared to work their arse off regardless of qualification or prior misdeed. Fifteen did little or nothing most restaurants don't do anyway, just not on telly and over a longer timeframe.

True. However, given that the age and circumstances of the staff of Fifteen were used as part of the restaurant's PR, as was the fact that he employed so many young people, he must be aware that comments like that will reflect badly on his young staff as people are much more aware of the average age of his chefs than they are of those in any other establishment - as he used that fact to get attention for the business. I doubt his staff are relishing the thought of doing the weekend shift right now. Like AOB said, it is a job that involves seeing the public and been seen by them, in an industry where the staff can already expect to encounter a few tossers on a fairly regular basis (some who even enjoy lauding themselves over those in service positions even if they've done nothing wrong). I wouldn't be surprised either if they got a few shitty looks from people.

[mattomac]

I actually cook quite a bit with the type of fresh ingredients Mr Oliver mentions but for the last 2 weeks I have had around £30 to spend, a fortnight or so ago I went to Iceland and spent around £15 that saw me through two weeks

On that economy of scale, I don't see the comparison really, none of it was particularly ready meal either, I prefer when I have money to spend £30 a week on food as a single man, but £15 for two weeks a saving of £45 is well it's no wonder why people seek the cheapest option.

Throughout this small period of poverty however I remembered I had Sky Tv, a Job, I knew pay day was coming and also felt for the poor bugger 20 foot from my house who has nothing and sits on the streets, it is pretty humbling.

I have a chat with him occasionally, he always says hello and I say hello back, far nicer man than Mr Oliver ever will be who is full of hate against those who don't deserve it.

[Fflaps]

As other people have said it's all very well if you live near a decent range of shops, have a car or can afford home delivery, but there are plenty of poor areas that don't have markets or supermarkets http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[canus insanus]

As other people have said it's all very well if you live near a decent range of shops, have a car or can afford home delivery, but there are plenty of poor areas that don't have markets or supermarkets http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And this is what got me, going back to the original argument. Many poor people live on estates where the local shop is a One-Stop or a Nisa, whatever, where prices for fresh veg and all that stuff he recommends cost an arm and a leg (you could always cook them, mind). Where are the old fashioned grocers and greengrocers, the friendly butcher who would sell you a ham hock for a quid to make pea and ham, the old fishmonger who sold sprats and mackerels for a few bob? Yes Jamie, they all got FORCED OUT OF BUSINESS by the fucking supermarkets like those gangsters Sainsburys, and the Mafiosi-esque bastards at Asda and Tesco who paid you a king's ransom for shit ads telling us that the supermarkets are our bessie mates and their ready meals are, mmmm, yummy. Then, when there are no decent local shops left, and you have to go to Shitburys for a pack of value sausages and a few poxy spuds, because the local market has about 6 stalls selling hair extensions, mobile phone cases and cosmopolitan coffee beans, you take it out on the poor for eating shit from supermarkets.

THAT'S why you're getting adverse publicity, you raging tit.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Precisely.

We used to have a nice, local High Street - butcher, greengrocer, newsagent. In came Sainsbury's.

Now we have Sainsbury's.

[MisterMuncher]

We've lost artisans to pre-pack bags, and personality to grinning celeb endorsement. Oliver helped build the house we have to live in, and now bemoans it's structure.

[Daley Mayle]

As other people have said it's all very well if you live near a decent range of shops, have a car or can afford home delivery, but there are plenty of poor areas that don't have markets or supermarkets http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And this is what got me, going back to the original argument. Many poor people live on estates where the local shop is a One-Stop or a Nisa, whatever, where prices for fresh veg and all that stuff he recommends cost an arm and a leg (you could always cook them, mind). Where are the old fashioned grocers and greengrocers, the friendly butcher who would sell you a ham hock for a quid to make pea and ham, the old fishmonger who sold sprats and mackerels for a few bob? Yes Jamie, they all got FORCED OUT OF BUSINESS by the fucking supermarkets like those gangsters Sainsburys, and the Mafiosi-esque bastards at Asda and Tesco who paid you a king's ransom for shit ads telling us that the supermarkets are our bessie mates and their ready meals are, mmmm, yummy. Then, when there are no decent local shops left, and you have to go to Shitburys for a pack of value sausages and a few poxy spuds, because the local market has about 6 stalls selling hair extensions, mobile phone cases and cosmopolitan coffee beans, you take it out on the poor for eating shit from supermarkets.

THAT'S why you're getting adverse publicity, you raging tit.

Bravo. I'm nicking that.

[shyamz]

Many poor people live on estates where the local shop is a One-Stop or a Nisa, whatever, where prices for fresh veg and all that stuff he recommends cost an arm and a leg (you could always cook them, mind)

I don't think its just inner city estates that have this problem either. Whilst visiting a relative in Babbacombe I stayed in a pub/guest house in the area, and managed to visit a few other local towns (Marychurch, Cockington, Torquay itself). The first thing you notice is that in the smaller towns like Babbacombe and Marychurch there are only a tiny handful of shops, so if you cannot afford deliveries from an out of town supermarket or you don't have a car you have very limited choice in where your food comes from (and even if you do have a car you have to drive pretty far out to reach the big out of town supermarket). The shop owners clearly know this, as the price of things (for all some people's complaining about the cost of things in London) is far higher than what you'd pay for the same items elsewhere. They know full well that a lot of people have no choice but to shop there, so they can charge whatever they wish. It did make me wonder how the vast number of older people living in these areas can afford to live in places like that, when the prices of everything are hiked up to fleece tourists, or simply because there is nowhere else for car-less locals to shop. Babbacombe itself did have a Co-Op, but these are always more expensive than other supermarkets, (and this one was absolutely tiny anyway). That leaves a middling size Tesco with a very limited supply of fresh fruit and veg, but a lot of cheap frozen stuff.

Never fear though, according to my aunt they just got a Waitrose - a long bus ride away from my aunt and her fella and selling food which as we all know, costs a fortune to most people.

I know a lot of these seaside towns aren't the place to live if you're short on cash which is why a lot of people who live in them do have some money stashed away or are working. However this doesn't change the fact that there are people of all kinds living in every town in the UK, and like everywhere else there are poorer people on a budget living there as well (not to mention a lot of unemployed people in coastal towns). For them, the elderly and for large families, eating healthy cooked-from-scratch food can't be easy either.

People living in these areas have different problems when it comes to eating cheaply and healthily, but these seem to be problems that food superheroes like Jaime who live in the cities are unaware of.

[Carlos The Badger]

Just watched the gobshites new programme. And yes, he more than proved the point a couple of people made about the time and ancillary costs not being mentioned.

His example… the 'humble' pizza. Comparing his creation to a 'rip-off' takeaway.

• Jamie's masterpiece = £1.73
  
  Evil takeaway = £12

A no brainer if taken at face value.

But lets ignore the time it takes for the dough to prove. And the time and fuel to cook the fucker.
Also don't mention that the tomato sauce is best blended in that state-of-the-art processor. Fail to state that the pinch of dried fennel can't be bought in 'pinches'. Nor that the 'drizzle of vinegar' from the jar of pickled jalepeños has to be purchased with the said jar of pickled jalepeños and can't be had separately.
And if you haven't got bunches of dried oregano hanging around in your tiny kitchen for you to tear up and sprinkle over the pizza then more fool you.
I won't even mention that sausages are not available singularly, either.

• ASDA Deep Pan Chilli Beef Pizza (385g) = £1.00

Twat!

[Tubby Isaacs]

As other people have said it's all very well if you live near a decent range of shops, have a car or can afford home delivery, but there are plenty of poor areas that don't have markets or supermarkets http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We've got a fruit and veg co-op in my inner city area, much cheaper than supermarkets. Not many people know about it though.