Jamie Oliver’s new TV series and campaign, Ministry of Food, is all about getting people cooking again. He wants to show us that anyone can learn to cook – and that it’s fun, cool, can save you money and help you, your family and friends to live a healthier life.
Pass It On
The idea behind Pass It On is to inspire people who have never cooked to give it a try and then, once they’ve learned a recipe, to teach two other people how to make it too. We also want to mobilise anyone who can cook to pass on their skills by teaching their friends, family or workmates how to cook good, honest, affordable food. Over the past year Jamie has been visiting the Yorkshire town of Rotherham, where he’s started the movement off by teaching a class of people new recipes every week. He has also set up a Ministry of Food Centre in the town centre to give non-cooks a place to come and learn how to make simple, delicious meals as well as other basic kitchen skills.We’d like to get as many people as possible to sign up to the movement and pass on one recipe to two other people. So come on, guys, anyone can do it. Be part of Pass It On!
Why is it called the Ministry of Food?
During and after World War I, terrible food shortages meant many people were malnourished. So when World War II broke out, the government appointed the Ministry of Food to help families make the most of wartime rations. It had to make sure there was enough food to go around and also to educate the public about food and proper nutrition so they’d be healthy and fighting fit.
A national network of Food Advice centres was set up and these hosted cookery demonstrations, handed out recipes and gave people useful advice on how to best use the ingredients available to them – from things that were rationed to seasonal fruit and veg that could be grown in a back garden as part of the Dig For Victory campaign. As well as all of this, the Ministry of Food also mobilised thousands of women who could cook and sent them out to the people, wherever they were: workplaces, factories, schools, gentlemen’s clubs or local shopping areas. Because of this incredibly valuable service, people knew how to use their food rations properly and were able to eat - and live - better, even during the war! As a result the British public had one of the healthiest diets of any time in history.
Why is cooking so important?
Today’s diet-related problems aren’t linked to a shortage of food this time, but are serious in a very different way. The research shows that people who cook more are generally healthier than those who don’t. That’s why this movement is so important, because it could really be good for your health and the future health of the country.
We’re getting too fat
Health experts say we’re one of the fattest countries after America. 60% of us are either overweight or obese. And it’s affecting our kids, too. If they’re overweight by the time they’re 10, nearly 80% are likely to be overweight adults too.
Our health is suffering
We’re eating the wrong things and too much of them, so we’re not getting a balanced diet. Relying on takeaways, snacks and ready meals just doesn’t give you the right kind of nutrition for good health. So as well as being too fat, we’re also more likely to develop obesity-related illnesses like heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
We’re forgetting how to cook
As a nation, we eat 50% of all the ready meals in Europe. If we don’t even know the basics about food and cooking, we’re not likely to give it a try. Within a couple more generations we are at risk of completely losing our cooking skills.
Why Rotherham?
Jamie was originally inspired to start the movement in the South Yorkshire town of Rotherham so he could meet some of the Rawmarsh Community School women who were brought to fame around the world for allegedly passing chips and burgers through the school railings during his campaign to change school dinners. Another reason for going to Rotherham was that it is said to be the town that best reflects the rest of the country’s population in terms of demographic make-up. So, Jamie reckoned if a Ministry of Food could work there, then it could work anywhere.
Photography Copyright © 2008 Chris Terry