peevish mama

Remember the Naked Chef? That cute, British, slacker chef who cooked fresh food in a really simple, sloppy, adorable and inviting way? Well, he’s no slacker. He’s been busy and I realized just how busy when my editor, Shari, over at Simple Good and Tasty emailed me the link to his acceptance speech of the TED Prize. He carries a powerful message and, man, would it ever behoove this country to lend an ear and make some serious changes. If you have a little time and a thing for scruffy passionate Brits, do yourself a favor and watch this. If not, here are some highlights from his speech. 

“I profoundly believe that the power of food has a primal place in our homes that binds us to the best bits of life.”

“Fact. Diet related disease is the biggest killer in the United States, right now, here today.” 

On school lunches: ” There’s not enough veggies at all. French fries are considered a vegetable. Pizza for breakfast. They don’t even get given crockery. Knives and forks? No, they’re too dangerous . . . and the way I look at it is, if you don’t have knives and forks in your school, you’re purely endorsing, from a state level, fast food. Because it’s handheld. And yes, by the way, it is fast food. It’s sloppy joes, it’s burgers, it’s wieners, it’s pizzas . . . “

“There needs to be a new standard of fresh, proper food for your children.”

“Under the circumstances, it’s profoundly important that every American child leaves school knowing how to cook ten recipes . . .”

“My wish is for you to help a strong sustainable movement to educate every child about food, to inspire families to cook again, and to empower people everywhere to fight obesity.”

Ooof! Gives me chills. His new show, “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution,” premieres Friday March 26, 8:00-9:00 p.m., CT, on ABC. Gentlemen, start your TiVos.