Saving money the Jamie way

Figures released by The Bookseller magazine show that Save With Jamie, which shows families how to cook 'tasty, nutritious food on a budget', has sold 201,959 copies since it was released at the end of August.

Figures released by The Bookseller magazine show that Save With Jamie, which shows families how to cook 'tasty, nutritious food on a budget', has sold 201,959 copies since it was released at the end of August.

Published Sep 9, 2013

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London - Jamie Oliver’s mission to get the UK to eat well on a budget got off to a controversial start when he lambasted working-class families for buying gigantic flat-screen televisions while eating junk food.

But his new austerity cookbook, which promises “exciting food that’s not hard on your wallet” might not quite provide the low-cost answers hard-pressed households need.

Home cooks wanting to try all the “money-saving” meals in Save With Jamie would need to spend more than £500 (about R8 000) on kitchen utensils and food “staples” before buying a single main ingredient.

In the book – which itself costs a wallet-straining £26 – Oliver lists 47 items of equipment needed for the recipes, including a griddle pan, a pestle and mortar and three different kinds of grater, which would cost at least £360.

In addition, he cites a list of “stock cupboard essentials”, including peanut oil, sesame oil, quinoa, organic yoghurt, and polenta.

When totalled up, the hefty shopping list of 107 foods, spices and oils would cost almost £150.

We calculated the figures for ingredients and equipment using the cheapest alternatives available. But most of the items pictured in the “What You Need” section of the book come from the TV chef’s own range of Tefal utensils, which come at a hefty premium.

While a basic food processor – which is required in almost 20 of the book’s recipes – costs from £60, Oliver’s branded version costs £150.

 

Oliver’s comments about flat-screen televisions and junk food were made in an interview he gave to promote his TV show, Jamie’s Money Saving Meals, which is tied in with the supposedly budget cookbook.

“Naked Chef” Oliver, who is worth an estimated £150-million (R2.39-billion), says he is determined to demonstrate that fresh cooking could be more economical than convenience food.

He added: “The fascinating thing for me is that seven times out of 10, the poorest families in this country choose the most expensive way to hydrate and feed their families: the ready meals, the convenience foods.

“I meet people who say, ‘You don’t understand what it’s like.’ I just want to hug them and teleport them to the Sicilian street cleaner who has 25 mussels, ten cherry tomatoes, and a packet of spaghetti for 60p (R9.60), and knocks out the most amazing pasta. You go to Italy or Spain and they eat well on not much money.

“We’ve missed out on that in Britain, somehow.”

Oliver’s comments were challenged by the Child Poverty Action Group, whose head of policy, Imran Hussain, said: “For many families it’s low income which gets in the way of healthy eating.

“As official statistics show, parents of poor children are much less likely to be able to afford fresh fruit for their children.”

A spokesperson for the chef has hit back at accusations that the Save With Jamie cookbook is out of touch with the average household’s budget.

He said: “Jamie always puts a list of kitchen kit and store cupboard ingredients in his books as a guide for people.

“Of course you don’t have to buy everything before attempting a recipe or three – you would only have to buy a tiny proportion of the entire list to make some delicious, affordable food which costs, on average, around £1.32 a portion.” – Mail On Sunday

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