Something new for you

We've been feeling kind of guilty lately that we are so negative so much of the time on this blog. Not that the asses in the Bush junta don't deserve the scorn we heap upon them and the jokes we make at their expense, they do. It's just that in real life, we're not negative monkeys, we're positive monkeys who try to bring out the best in people and our selves when we can.

So in that vein we are starting a new continuing feature here at Monkey Muck. It's series of profiles of people who are making a positive difference in the world and from time to time we will also profile heroic people from days gone by that maybe you did not know about. No need to thank us, we're just keeping it 'reals' for you, our 'peeps.'

We start off this new feature with a profile of a TV personality who is actually using his celebrity to help others and to make a positive difference in the world. Without further adieu, we present a look of TV chef Jamie Oliver.

Jamie is, as we are sure you know, one of the rising stars of British cooking and cooking in general. In just a few short years he's become quite the rage in merry old England and over here in the USA as well. Folks around the world, through the magic of TV and the internets, have caught Oliver fever as well.

Jamie has put out several cookbooks, we admit that we own a couple here at Casa De Monkey, and he has grown quite wealthy from them. In addition to the cookbooks Jamie also makes money off a line of cookware, supermarket licensing of his name on products in UK supermarkets, and from his numerous TV shows.

We think that what makes Jamie so popular is his easy on camera style, his breezy style of writing, and his boyish good looks. Combine all that with his solid work ethic and you get the phenomenon known as Jamie Oliver. To top off all that Jamie has a sweet little family as well. His wife is quite the cutie pie and they have two little girls as well, and who knows if there are more on the way or not in the future.

Now in this day and age fame and fortune would be enough for most people. They would be content to continue to make money off their cooking and TV shows and the like and they'd never give back to their community or to their country.

But not Jamie.

The young Mr. Oliver started up a fine dining non profit restaurant a few years a go in London called Fifteen. He staffs the restaurant with cooks who come from the ranks of London's disadvantaged youth. He's taken these at risk kids and trained them to be chefs. Some of the young chefs he has turned out have gone on to work not only at Fifteen but at other fine dining establishments in London and other cities as well. The reviews of his restaurant are consistently positive and the food is, according to patrons, excellent. It's been such a smash hit that in order to get a table you must make reservations well in advance. Jamie is thinking of spreading Fifteen to other cities as well.

Now, surely, that would be enough for most people, fame, fortune and one charitable cause. Surely that would keep a person busy and content.

But not our Jamie.

He recently took up the cause of getting the schools in the UK to serve healthier food in the school lunch program. Most every school lunch in Britain used to consist of basically crap food, they'd serve chicken nuggets that were deep fried then frozen then reheated, french fries, chips, and soft drinks. Jamie saw what the kids were eating and he became horrified, as you should be too if you have school age children because your kids are still getting crappy meals like this in America, and he chose to do something about it. He started with one school in London and he taught the cooks in that school how to make healthy lunches without using the shit foods they were using before. Yes the kids complained about the new food, most of them had never eaten anything very fresh and healthy before, and yes the cooks complained, because cooking healthier meant that they had to do more than just open a box of frozen crap or open a can of vegetable ick. And yes the school board complained because at first the cost was a bit higher, but Jamie negotiated better pricing. After he made a success of his program for better eating at that school he took his crusade nationwide, all the while continuing to his other endeavors. He spoke to civic groups, school boards around the UK, to Prince Charles, and he even sat down with douchebag Tony Blair, who took time out of his busy 'being George Bush's poodle' schedule to listen to Jamie. As a result of Jamie's efforts the schools in the UK serve better food now and perhaps the kids won't end up like their fat little American cousins.

Jamie has his detractors of course, as does anyone who achieves a modicum of success. There are those, most notably in the Murdoch owned British tabloid press, who constantly hound Oliver and his family with paparazzi and with stories that are based on rumor and innuendo. But through it all Jamie stands tall and he continues to cook and do good things for his home country and for people everywhere. On a personal note, we here at Casa de Monkey have learned to use his approach to cooking, using fresh ingredients to make healthy and good tasting dishes, and we love the results. We know you're not perfect Mr. Oliver, but we love you anyway and we hope you continue to keep up your good work in the kitchen, on TV, and anywhere you are needed.