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Jamie Oliver
Nov. 12th, 2008 10:46 amSo I went to Barnes and Noble last night and met Jamie Oliver. What a sweetheart he is!
He spoke about his new book "Jamie at Home" and autographed copies of his books.
The room was packed. He was in high spirits. He talked for about 20 minutes, and he is as delightful, upbeat and sweet in person as he is on air. He said he was a "special needs" student as a child, and nobody is as amazed as he (except for perhaps his special needs teachers) to have published 9 books in his lifetime. I did not know he was a special needs student as a kid, so I'm wondering if maybe he has ADD or dyslexia or both. He did say "you can see it in that my mind is all over the place all the time" and said he didn't have the grades to move on academically after his exams. But he said all this without any shame or embarrassment, emphasizing how he grew up learning how to cook and new at an early age that cooking was in his future. I thought this was wonderful. He serves as a real role model.
As for this book, he said he picked up some packets of seeds but they were all in italian. So he just threw them in his garden and lo and behold, he had fresh veggies all summer. He accused himself of being a "hippy" jokingly, but couldn't stress enough how his book and his interests are all about being close to your food. Knowing where food comes from, how it grows, keeping things fresh, being a part of nature, etc. is both healthy and good for the environment. He talked about places in the UK where you see huge patches of farmland but none of the products get to the nearby people, who all eat packaged pre-processed crap and die young. He was extremely passionate about this.
He also talked about a new project he's doing with the people from the Food Network, where he will be going to 8 different places in the US. He is learning about American cooking, and just finished shooting a few weeks in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana. He was enthralled by the complex cooking, seeing history (as we know cajun and creole cooking come from a rich mix of cultures) and was excited by native LA "game" such as alligator and catfish. His enthusiasm was palpable, and it was a joy to share it with him.
After he spoke, he autographed books. I asked him if they were going to Puerto Rico. He said no, but that some of best people he knows are Puerto Rican and would love to do a show on Puerto Rican food. I told him I was half PR and half Jewish and that in my family "food is love" and he kind of went off a bit about how great that was. I also told him how great it was that he had so many vegetarian recipes and vegetarian adaptable recipes and he lit up telling me about all the pasta, bean, veggie and bread recipes in his new book that don't even need adapting. His face literally lit up like a Christmas tree.
After he signed my books I shook his hand and thanked him. What a lovely way to spend an early evening.
I took a few photos with my mobile phone. Sorry two of them are so blurry. I was far away and used the zoom. They are clickable thumbnails if you wish to see the larger pictures. Enjoy!
He spoke about his new book "Jamie at Home" and autographed copies of his books.
The room was packed. He was in high spirits. He talked for about 20 minutes, and he is as delightful, upbeat and sweet in person as he is on air. He said he was a "special needs" student as a child, and nobody is as amazed as he (except for perhaps his special needs teachers) to have published 9 books in his lifetime. I did not know he was a special needs student as a kid, so I'm wondering if maybe he has ADD or dyslexia or both. He did say "you can see it in that my mind is all over the place all the time" and said he didn't have the grades to move on academically after his exams. But he said all this without any shame or embarrassment, emphasizing how he grew up learning how to cook and new at an early age that cooking was in his future. I thought this was wonderful. He serves as a real role model.
As for this book, he said he picked up some packets of seeds but they were all in italian. So he just threw them in his garden and lo and behold, he had fresh veggies all summer. He accused himself of being a "hippy" jokingly, but couldn't stress enough how his book and his interests are all about being close to your food. Knowing where food comes from, how it grows, keeping things fresh, being a part of nature, etc. is both healthy and good for the environment. He talked about places in the UK where you see huge patches of farmland but none of the products get to the nearby people, who all eat packaged pre-processed crap and die young. He was extremely passionate about this.
He also talked about a new project he's doing with the people from the Food Network, where he will be going to 8 different places in the US. He is learning about American cooking, and just finished shooting a few weeks in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana. He was enthralled by the complex cooking, seeing history (as we know cajun and creole cooking come from a rich mix of cultures) and was excited by native LA "game" such as alligator and catfish. His enthusiasm was palpable, and it was a joy to share it with him.
After he spoke, he autographed books. I asked him if they were going to Puerto Rico. He said no, but that some of best people he knows are Puerto Rican and would love to do a show on Puerto Rican food. I told him I was half PR and half Jewish and that in my family "food is love" and he kind of went off a bit about how great that was. I also told him how great it was that he had so many vegetarian recipes and vegetarian adaptable recipes and he lit up telling me about all the pasta, bean, veggie and bread recipes in his new book that don't even need adapting. His face literally lit up like a Christmas tree.
After he signed my books I shook his hand and thanked him. What a lovely way to spend an early evening.
I took a few photos with my mobile phone. Sorry two of them are so blurry. I was far away and used the zoom. They are clickable thumbnails if you wish to see the larger pictures. Enjoy!
