EXCLUSIVE: Jamie Oliver is as passionate as ever when it comes to revolutionising kids’ health and education – and he says he has high hopes for Britain’s new leader
Oliver has issued a bold challenge to the new PM(Image: Heidi Gutman, ABCvia Getty Images)
Jamie Oliver says it’s time for Britain’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham to be ‘ revolutionary’ when it comes to children’s health and education.
The celebrity chef, 51, has worked with the government on school dinners since 2005 and tells us, “It’s going to be an interesting six months. For a long time, my teams have been reaching out to his teams – we have very good dialogue. And he has always been quite contemporary, quite open-minded.”
He adds, “No government has put child health as a priority in the election – ever. So, let’s see. And, by the way, when you’re talking about children’s health and education, it’s a blink of an eye. We’re talking ten years. It’s a country’s entire future. This is an opportunity for Burnham to reframe what Labour looks like.”
One of outgoing PM Keir Starmer’s last big moves was to ban energy drinks for under-16s from April next year, Oliver backed the Mirror’s campaign – but it’s something he has pushed for for years and says, “It should have happened a decade ago.”
In June, Starmer finally pushed through a social media ban for Under-16s, due to take effect next spring. Oliver believes it’s ‘crude’, but a step in the right direction.
“Obviously, young people are going to work around it. But ultimately it’s about rebalancing the etiquette of digital: what is fair, what is legal, what is appropriate?
“My nine-year-old does crafting with friends on screen. It’s outrageously wholesome. Hopefully it’s the start of more of this.”
Looking back on his working relationship with another Prime Minster, Tony Blair Olivier said, “Blair probably did a very good job of it [addressing children’s health]. I’ve always been apolitical, and I talk to everyone.”
Following a public outcry in the standard of school meals, following Olivier’s Channel 4 series, Jamie’s School Dinners, in 2005, Blair pledged to support school kitchens being equipped to cook meals from scratch for for staff to be given the right ‘culinary skills.’
“Blair’s been quoted as saying that he would have done more on school dinners when he worked me.. He was quite gracious.”
At home, Oliver shares five children with his childhood sweetheart Jools, who he married in 2000, though his two eldest have flown the nest – and he admits homelife can be ‘chaotic’.
“My goodness, it is busy. It is hard. But Jools is like the doyenne. She’s the one that allows me to be a good dad, she holds the whole thing down. She’s amazing. We were just saying the other day, the family’s so close, so tight, so I’m very lucky in that sense. “If there’s any trouble, everyone comes together to help,. That’s one of the joys of this part of my life, with children ranging from 9 to 24!
“Like any family, there are trials and tribulations, anxiety. The only difference is, I don’t think growing up as Jamie Oliver’s kid is actually that easy, it’s troublesome.!” He adds, “I’m not a cool dad – they might say that in their 20s, but right now they destroy me with one look!”
Oliver was just 23 when he shot to fame with cooking show The Naked Chef in 1999, viewers falling for his cheeky chappy persona. Now in his 50s, he says this decade is shaping up to be his best yet.
“I’ve had the best 50th year. I’ve tried to focus on my health, sleep, work and be a bit more selfish, spend more time with family….”
But this phase of his life has also presented ‘challenging thoughts’, he says. “It’s that funny thing It where you used to spend your time going to weddings and now you go to lots of funerals. But I’m good, I’m enjoying myself.”
As well as a new series of 15 Minute Meals, Jamie – who cooked from the age of eight at his parents’ pub in Essex, has released an interactive new pre-schoolers’ book, Love Veggies.
“I’ve been trying to get kids to eat healthily for a long, long time. As someone that struggled as myself growing up, I wanted the opportunity to write for a very specific age.
“This introduces colours, textures, when you open up the flaps, you can see seeds inside. And there’s a fun recipe at the back, which everyone can make together. And I know the power of that.”
Having worked with older primary school kids, Oliver was shocked that the majority couldn’t name most regular vegetables. “They know all the junk food is because it’s being marketed to them every day from the minute they’re born.
“So this is my attempt to reach a younger audience – and help parents. Because, if you can get healthy eating across to your kids, by 13 all the good work should be done.”
Love Veggies with Jamie Oliver! (£9.99, Magic Cat Publishing) is out now, part of the Jamie’s Little Food Library series.
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