Pupils shun Jamie's dinners revolution - Oct 4 2007
Jamie Oliver's school dinners revolution has backfired as pupils turn their backs on increasingly expensive canteen food, inspectors suggested.

Ofsted warned that the Government's £477 million overhaul of school food will have a "limited" impact if children keep shunning healthier food.

In a new report, the inspectorate said some teenage girls were eating nothing during the day to stay slim, while younger children at primary school couldn't use a knife and fork properly.

Some pupils felt the healthier meals were too expensive while others preferred the chip shop at lunchtime.

The report was published one year after new rules came into force banning junk food from canteens following Jamie's TV campaign for healthier school dinners.

Ofsted said fewer pupils were eating school meals in 19 of the 27 primaries and secondaries visited for the investigation.

"The take-up of school meals had fallen overall since the introduction of the new food standards," the report said.

"Reasons for this decline are complex and include lack of consultation with pupils and parents about the new arrangements in schools; poor marketing of the new menus; the high costs for low-income families and a lack of choice in what is offered."

The inspectors warned: "If this trend continues, the impact of the Government's food policies will have limited effect.

"This will be particularly the case for children from more vulnerable families.

"Several headteachers believed that the cost of a meal was prohibitive."

The report, Food In Schools: Encouraging Healthier Eating, said some pupils were simply taking unhealthy packed lunches into school or going shopping for junk food.



Jamie ’not buying Little Chef’ - Sept 21 2007
Jamie Oliver has dismissed reports that he is to buy the Little Chef chain.

The TV star was said to be planning a new reality show in which he would give the roadside restaurants a healthy makeover.

But his spokesman said: "Jamie is not buying Little Chef and none of his companies are buying Little Chef."

Production company Fresh One, which makes the celeb chef’s shows, approached the chain earlier this year with an idea for a series, but he was not involved.

"Fresh One did have an early conversation but decided no further progress would be necessary.

"The idea that Fresh One had in mind did not involve Jamie," the spokesman said.

Little Chef - famed for its Olympic Breakfast - went into administration in January. Private equity firm RCapital stepped in to save the firm.

There are 192 Little Chefs across the country and more than 20 million people visit every year.

Gordon Ramsay has previously offered to help the chain by revamping its menus.


Jamie restaurant third ’most overrated’ - Sept 14 2007
He has an army of fans - but Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen has been voted the third most overrated restaurant in a survey.

Fifteen opened in Hoxton in 2002 to provide chef training to disadvantaged young people, has had its fair share of criticism in the past and was described as "amateurish and overpriced" by one guide.

The Time Out restaurant poll, of 3,000 Londoners, voted The Ivy, famous for its celebrity clientele, in first spot - followed by Japanese restaurant Nobu.

However, it wasn’t all bad news for The Naked Chef. He was named as the second best-known and most popular chef behind Gordon Ramsay.

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