British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s new reality show just launched on ABC, with a “sneak preview” last Sunday night, and since I live under a rock, I missed the first airing. I have loved Jamie since The Naked Chef first aired on the Food Network, and he’s often my go-to chef for non-fussy, flavorful recipes.
That said, my new internet BFF Lisa Johnson alerted me to it when she posted her passionate reaction to what Jamie is up to.
The premise of his reality show Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, which airs Friday nights on ABC, is the typical fish-out-of-water style show, with a heart. He traveled to Huntington, West Virginia, the US’s most unhealthy town (at the time, apparently there’s a new one), to try to change the way they eat and in the process save their lives.
This is a simplistic description not only of the show but also the root cause of the problem, but the passion that Jamie has on his quest to end obesity is exactly the kick in the ass that we need.
I urge you to check out Jamie’s phenomenally inspiring and impassioned TedTalk. I love that he does not blame the people who suffer from obesity, but sees it as a much larger problem that essentially comes from modern living.
While I am not clear about how he thinks wealth plays into the situation (and Lisa touches on it in her post), I do think that it represents a financial divide in this country. But that’s a much longer post for another day. For the moment, I am just going to cheer Jamie on.
ABC is re-airing Sunday’s premiere episode tonight, followed by the second episode, which is in the series’ normal time slot.
