Jamie Oliver Bashes Food Choices of UK's Poor Families

World-saving British chef Jamie Oliver has made headlines for criticizing the eating choices of "the poorest families" in Britain. According to the Daily Mail, Oliver said in an interview with Radio Times: "I'm not judgmental, but I've spent a lot of time in poor communities, and I find it quite hard to talk about modern-day poverty." To illustrate what upsets him about "modern-day poverty" in Britain, the chef references a scene from his show Ministry of Food in which a family was eating cheap, unhealthy food but "behind them is a massive TV." It's worth noting here that Oliver has multiple television shows, and his net worth is estimated at £150 million (roughly US $232.7 million) due in part to those shows' success.

The problem, according to Oliver 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." "Financially challenged" people in other countries manage to create "inspirational food," Oliver says, but not in Britain. But not to worry, he has some solutions.

His first solution? Condescending wishful thinking: "I just want to hug them and teleport them to the Sicilian street cleaner who has 25 mussels, 10 cherry tomatoes, and a packet of spaghetti for 60 pence, and knocks out the most amazing pasta." His other solution? Watch his new British television show, Jamie's Money Saving Meals. But not while eating unhealthy food, okay?

· Poor Are Wasting Cash on Ready Meals, Says Jamie Oliver [Daily Mail]
· All Jamie Oliver Coverage on Eater [-E-]