Jamie Oliver: Working mums to blame for unhealthier meals

 

By SINEAD MCINTYRE Last updated at 22:41pm on 1st October 2006

Outspoken: TV chef Jamie Oliver

 

 

 

Jamie Oliver has blamed working mothers for contributing to the breakdown of British family life.

Their decision to go out to work has resulted in a decline in the number of parents and children sitting down to proper healthy meals together, the TV chef said.

He said: "As far as holding a family or a nation's food culture together, it's always been women.

"And when the Industrial Revolution and two world wars kicked in - and there was rationing - women went to work and stayed in work.

"To my mind that's why we've lost our food culture".

Oliver said: "I might be biased, but I think if you got everyone round the table two or three times a week you'd get a drop in the divorce rate.

"And as for the kids, they might not know it yet, but they'll thank their parents when they're older".

The father-of-two spoke out in an interview for the November issue of Good Housekeeping magazine.

He is the first man to appear on its cover since 1937 when King George VI appeared with his wife Queen Elizabeth in a special issue to commemorate his Coronation.

However Oliver went on to insist he was not criticising women for choosing to work and said he would 'love it' of his wife Jools went out to work.

"I'm not dissing women in anyway. If they want to go to work, they should bloody well go to work - if you look in my office you'll see that they're all women and I'd much rather work with them.

"But I think it's a combination of women going to work and supermarkets getting very big very quickly that means a lot of the food choices we make our slightly naughty ones".

Oliver, who also admitted to becoming slightly "cocky" when he first shot to fame, is infamous for his vocal views on the country's junk food culture.

He led a high profile campaign for healthier school meals following his television show Jamie's School Dinners, which highlighted an over reliance on processed foods such as Turkey Twizzlers.

It resulted in ministers pledging to improve the quality of food.

Earlier this year he hit out at the Government for taking so long to deliver the promised improvements as he picked up two Baftas for the Channel 4 show.

And last month he lambasted parents who insist on giving their children junk food, warning they were risking their children becoming 'overweight underachievers' as he launched his follow up - Jamie's Return to School dinners.

However in the Good Housekeeping interview he praised McDonald's for being "better than the rest" because of its decision to switch to organic milk and free range eggs.

He said the company's standards were "far superior" to a lot of other "dodgy fast food places".

But he went on to warn: "They're fine for a treat, but if you have them for dinner three or four times a week it's not a wise option".

The chef said be happy if his own wife, who last year published a book on motherhood, went out to work leaving him to look after Poppy Honey, four, and three-year-old Daisy Boo.

"I'd love it", he said. "I love to look after the girls and hopefully I'll do more of that, but I'm definitely the breadwinner and she's a great mum."

The only time we have a meal together at home as a family is christmas day.

 

Sometimes when both me and my brother are at home with nothing to do, we go out as a family, but the last time we did was back in 2004.

oh noooooooooooooooooooooooo he didn't!! :rolleyes:

That's sad to hear...I couldn't imagine not to eat together with my family everyday....

I think it's an important thing in your all day life....I think there must be enough time for this...

 

 

my neighbours are also like that....they only eat together at one table at sundays...

Well it's fact that as women have become equal and less are satisfied to be 'just' housewives, there's less 'proper' homecooked meals for families because both parents just lack the time (or claim to).