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Jamie Oliver calls for reintroduction of cookery classes in schools
Jamie Oliver has written to ministers urging them to re-introduce old 
fashioned cookery classes in order to tackle the country’s obesity crisis.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/education/primaryeducation/3230330/Jamie-Oliver-calls-for-reintroduction-of-cookery-classes-in-schools.html

By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:25AM BST 21 Oct 2008

The celebrity chef wants Government-funded food centres to be set up in every 
town in order to teach people to cook, just like Ministry of Food taught 
people to “dig for victory” and make the most of their rations during the 
1940s.

In a manifesto presented to ministers, he also called for cooking skills to 
be taught in primary schools as well as to adults at work and in the 
community.

The campaigning chef said such extreme measures are the only way to stop 
people rely on fatty junk foods.

In a letter to Government ministers, he wrote: “If nothing is done, obesity 
and diet-related health problems will have devastating consequences for the 
national health service.

“Obesity already costs the NHS more than smoking (£4.2 billion vs £2.7 
billion).

“Experts now say the problem is escalating so quickly that in ten years’ 
time, 75% of people will be overweight or obese. Meanwhile, the Government is 
working on predictions 40 years away.”

He continues: “The new obesity strategy covers both diet and exercise but it 
contains no plans to help people to improve food and cooking skills and stop 
them becoming obese.

“Babies and toddlers are especially at risk because many young mothers don’t 
know how to cook, nor do they have any basic knowledge of nutrition.”

Oliver’s Channel 4 programme, Jamie’s Ministry of Food, features a pilot food 
centre in Rotherham, set up jointly with the local council.

Oliver is calling for such centres to be set up in every town, staffed by 
home economics teachers.

He says the centres cost £150,000 each to set up, or £22.5 million for 150, 
and the money should come from local government and health budgets.

The manifesto says: “We need to get loads of professional cookery teachers 
trained up... to work right through the community. They need to reach the 
people who don’t cook, don’t watch cookery programmes, don’t buy cook books, 
don’t know about food.

“If they give it a try and start to feel inspired about cooking, the 
Government could make a massive difference, and quickly.

“All it needs is proper funding and support from central Government, 
specifically the departments of health, skills and education.”

Other measures being called for are:

• Cooks in the community to spread their knowledge at events in universities, 
offices, factories and shopping centres.

• Tax incentives for businesses which promote better diets.

• Mobile food centres for deprived neighbourhoods, at a cost of £20 million 
for 10.

• The promotion of fresh, cheap food.

• Funding for adult cookery classes, especially for people on income support 
and those living in deprived areas.