1593 - Jamie's American Roadtrip

If you've read this blog at all you know that I dig Jamie Oliver, I dig his message, him as a person.  Does he come off as "too much" sometimes?  Sure.  Maybe.  But the thing about his shows is that you can tell that this is a man that gives a shit, and furthermore he's not worried about saying what's on his mind, how he's feeling, even if it makes him look stupid and silly sometimes.
This series has him running around American looking for the kind of food that's the backbone of the country and by doing so he learns about the lesser known parts of the country and the lesser known people.  From the Deep South to the immigrants of New York City to the residents of the Navajo Nation, it's a large cross section of people, and of course, food. 
This particular series isn't for animal lovers as you see several killed and butchered.  Any of you meat eaters out there that have a problem with watching this kind of stuff should probably question your interest in eating meat if you can't stomach how it gets to you. 
I know there's a lot of people that love, hate and love to hate, or hate to love Jamie, but I'll continue to watch whatever he's a part of.  I might even get around to picking up one of his cookbooks as well - although I get a sense they are fairly meat based.
Jamie's America: Easy Twists on Great American Classics, and More

1585 - Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution: season two

This was a very different season from anything Jamie has dealt with so far in terms of trying to make food better for children.  To start off with he couldn't even get into a school cafeteria for almost the entire season.  So instead he has to do other things - which were interesting as well.  Jamie acknowledged that the country is obsessed with fast food and watching him attack that was interesting as well.  If I have any critiques it's that Jamie felt a little... smug this season... and perhaps things felt a little more 'set-up' than usual.  I work in television, and I've done a fair amount of work in reality/docu television and I can smell a set-up a mile away.  It's not to say that things didn't happen, but it's pretty easy to spot that something that happened spontaneously and something that was recreated.  In the grand scheme it doesn't matter, what matters is that Jamie is making a difference.  If you follow the news on this you'll see that even after the filming of the season change s continuing to happen in L.A.  Is it all Jamie?  No.  Of course not.  But he sure didn't hurt.
I was sad to learn that ABC has cancelled this series.  I'd be surprised if someone else didn't pick it up in some capacity.  The show itself is entertaining, but it's also eye-opening and important.  Although I suppose if people just aren't watching then that says something in and of itself.  My ultimate hope would be that Jamie continues the work with or without the cameras.  He reportedly earned $25 million dollars doing this series, so it's not as if he needs the money. 
Watch this series if you can, or anything Jamie is involved with - his message is earnest, honest, and good: eat good food, know what it is, where it comes from, and what it'll do to you.
Jamie's Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals

1554 - Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution: season one

I have a bit of a man-crush on Jamie Oliver.  This is almost a continuation on the School Dinner series that Jamie did in the UK - although in this series his scale is much larger - wanting to change the entire system in the United States, but starting at step one - changing what's been reported to be the most obese city in the most obese country in the world: Huntington.
Like I said, I love Jamie Oliver - I'm sure that some of this is more dramatized than it is - I work in television, I know the kind of notes that you get on this kind of show to make things more dramatic and exciting - but for the most part it doesn't feel like it's fabricated - the stakes feel real.  When it comes down to it, this is about people's lives.
Oliver comes up against some harsh critics here and it's always a question if he can win people over - given what his quest is about it just boggles the mind that it's even a question whether or not you would get on board.  Like Oliver himself says - the only reason you wouldn't is because you're lazy or you just plain don't give a shit.
I love how this season ended - giving us a glimpse into it heading deeper into the world of change.  Hopefully we'll get an update on Huntington in some way - you really do get connected to the people you see here.  The second season just started airing, but if you poke around you can find this one still.  Not only is it great entertaining television - it's important.
Jamie's Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals  by Jamie Oliver Jamie's Food Revolution

1548 - Jamie's Return to School Dinners

We were excited to watch this after enjoying the original series so much.  It picks up a year or so later to find that, although the program is still running along, it's only the first stage in what really needs to happen.  Jamie takes the fight to the core, calling parents out for their lack of attention to what's happening with their children and their meals.  He calls the gov't into question - taking it all the way up to Tony Blair after the "minister of the week" is unable to give him a proper answer about how long they can commit to the cause.  As a person who feels strongly about food and our relationship to it I really enjoy this and I think that Oliver is a pretty damn good spokesperon for our generation.  He's got a bunch of other series that I really hope netflix picks up. 
You could see this without seeing the series first, but I'm not sure why you'd want to.  Watch it and do it with your kids or your parents or whomever. 

1537 - Jamie Oliver's School Dinners

My wife found this on netflix, and so we quickly breezed through this short, but wonderful, series that follows Jamie Oliver as he attempts to transform the school dinner program in the UK, from unhealthy fast food garbage, to well balanced meals. 
Food is pretty important to us in our house.  We like to know where our food comes from.  We read labels.  We buy local as much as we can.  We support farmers who treat their animals well.  We pay extra for it, of course, but for us it's worth it - and we can see the difference it makes in our son's life.  I imagine that this is where Jamie got the idea for this program is through looking at his own children and then thinking of the children throughout the rest of Great Britain. 
The documentary series is refreshing in how candid Jamie is about the process, he's frustrated, he's overjoyed.  We get to see all the ups and downs and he doesn't shelter himself from the problems in his personal life (or the problems that the press is trying to invent).  His goal is to prove that he can create a system that's healthier, but doesn't cost more, so that if the gov't says no to a nationwide change - its simply because they don't care.
It's been a long time since I've been in high school so I can't really speak on state of our system - although our food was closer to the fast food offerings than it was to what Jamie was trying to push through.  So hopefully we're making a change for the better as well. 
At one point in the series Jamie talks about the idea that it took some time for the public to become aware of the dangers of smoking, and several other things we know to be bad for us.  Food seems to be the next big-ticket-item, and people like Jamie are fighting the good fight.  Food is such a tough battle though as it's very personal to people - it's cultural - it's social - it's personal - we put this stuff inside of us - a lot!  And some of us put a lot of it inside of us :)  I speak from experience, being a larger man myself.  I like food.  And although the vast majority of stuff I eat is pretty damn healthy, you don't have to push me hard to get something is flavour focused over health.  I'd like to think I'm getting better - but it's a love/hate relationship I have with food: More love than hate though, luckily :) 
This is on netflix.  It's four episodes.  Check it out - and if you have kids, then it's must-see-television and make them sit in with you.  They'll probably enjoy it as much as you will.