Jamie Oliver Quotes & Sayings

I love roasting because you can give it love, get it in the oven and go and play with the kids or whatever you've got to do, and then hours later you've got a lovely dinner. — Jamie Oliver

Food is one of life's greatest joys yet we've reached this really sad point where we're turning food into the enemy, and something to be afraid of — Jamie Oliver

If you can eat with mates or friends or family, I mean, it's such a brilliant thing isn't it? If you feel really rubbish and you have a nice bit of food it makes you feel good, you know?
— Jamie Oliver

From quite an early age I realised the effect that good food can have on others. — Jamie Oliver

The public health of five million children should not be left to luck or chance. — Jamie Oliver

It's not the extremes and the treats that are the problem. It's the everyday. — Jamie Oliver

As soon as I was old enough to peer over the worktops, I remember being fascinated by what went on in the kitchen. It just seemed such a cool place, everyone working together to make this lovely stuff and having a laugh doing it. — Jamie Oliver

I challenge you, to go to any school and open 50 lunchboxes, and I guarantee you there will be one or two cans of Red Bull, there'll be cold McDonald's and jam sandwiches with several cakes. — Jamie Oliver

It's very clear that there's a lot of double standards going on. Should there be a 30mph speed limit? Of course there bloody should. And certainly with kids and school food, kids need to be nannied for sure. So give them a bloody good meal at school. — Jamie Oliver

Just because the Americans are so good at rattling out accessible and cheap junk food, nobody looks twice when it comes to their food. But there are golden nuggets everywhere. — Jamie Oliver

When you are trying to move mountains, you want-and need-people on your side who want to move them with you. — Jamie Oliver

I want Americans to enjoy food. I want them to celebrate food. I want them to, on occasions, to have big cakes and great things. And I want them to indulge. — Jamie Oliver

I could cook from quite an early age - purely because I liked it. — Jamie Oliver

40% of what I've done was a mistake. I now call it R&D. — Jamie Oliver

God, why do I give interviews to 'the Guardian'? They always try to dissect you, and I don't really think about stuff in the way that you're asking me these questions. — Jamie Oliver

Basically, we're taking a product that would be sold in the cheapest way for dogs, and after this process, is being given to human beings. — Jamie Oliver

I'm probably a bit romantic about it, but I think we humans miss having contact with fire. We need it. — Jamie Oliver

I hate making TV documentaries. — Jamie Oliver

Heads know that failing to invest in good, nutritious food is a false economy and parents won't tolerate reconstituted turkey being put back on the menu. — Jamie Oliver

If Obama wanted to make radical changes to America's health long-term, all he has to do is treble the price of sugar and salt. — Jamie Oliver

The kitchen oven is reliable, but it's made us lazy. — Jamie Oliver

I think there are definitely two types of student: the academic kids and the 50% who fail. It's very clear to see - it's fact. We're not doing enough for those who fail; they need a more physical, tactile approach, involving people skills, team-building, problem-solving, building things. — Jamie Oliver

I've cooked just about everything really. — Jamie Oliver

Your child will live a life ten years younger than you because of the landscape of food that we've built around them. — Jamie Oliver

What we call barbecuing in this country is actually direct grilling. In many countries, it also means cooking in an enclosed box with a heat source, ideally wood, all year round. — Jamie Oliver

Fight the staggering rise of type-2 diabetes by simply learning to cook healthy fresh food - it's fun, and it could save your life! — Jamie Oliver

Pick a destination, go there, be open-minded and talk to the locals. Eat the things they eat and go where they go. You don't need to be fluent, just as long as you've got a smile on your face- people will be jumping over themselves to show you the stuff they're proud of. — Jamie Oliver

My aim is to achieve sustainable change, not just make a cute little makeover. — Jamie Oliver

Homicide is 0.8% of deaths. Diet-related disease is over 60%. But no one talks about it. — Jamie Oliver

My first outdoor cooking memories are full of erratic British summers, Dad swearing at a barbecue that he couldn't put together, and eventually eating charred sausages, feeling brilliant. — Jamie Oliver

If you only design menus that are essentially junk or fast food, the whole infrastructure supports junk. — Jamie Oliver

I've made a few nice dishes in my time, but this must be the best I've ever made. — Jamie Oliver

Stop being a vegan and start enjoying what you eat. — Jamie Oliver

We opened a shop in Rotherham which does free demonstrations every day, six days a week and it's been very popular. — Jamie Oliver

I left school with basically nothing, I was a special needs kid. I did feel as though my school had let me down. — Jamie Oliver

Every kid in every school no matter their background, deserves to learn the basics about food - where it comes from, how to cook it and how it affects their bodies. These life skills are as important as reading and writing, but they've been lost over the past few generations. We need to bring them back and bring up our kids to be streetwise about food. — Jamie Oliver

When I was a schoolkid, I went to Castleton quite a few times. We'd be there studying rocks, going down these big hills. It was a great place! — Jamie Oliver

Like most of the other teachers, I'd done a bit of teaching and we all think we're great at what we do, but you realize that normally you have an audience who are all onside, who all want to listen. — Jamie Oliver

All I ever wanted to do was to make food accessible to everyone; to show that you can make mistakes - I do all the time - but it doesn't matter. — Jamie Oliver

Now that I've got kids, it's become really important for me on the health front to try to buy as much organic produce as possible. — Jamie Oliver

Young people can be disruptive and screw up classes. But even if they are being a pain in the arse it's a cry for help - they don't feel like they are being listened to. — Jamie Oliver

Real food doesn't have ingredients, real food is
ingredients. — Jamie Oliver

Cooking is the ultimate giving! — Jamie Oliver

The future is about a plant-based diet. — Jamie Oliver

Give your kids a bloody knife and fork and let me put some fresh food in front of them they can eat. — Jamie Oliver

As usual, my timing is bizarrely good. — Jamie Oliver

Many kids can tell you about drugs but do not know what celery or courgettes taste like. — Jamie Oliver

My life is really so much based in England. — Jamie Oliver

Why would any sensible human being put meat filled with ammonia in the mouths of their children? — Jamie Oliver

Have you ever seen a really good chocolate dish & women? It affects women not like men. It's incredible. — Jamie Oliver

I profoundly believe that the power of food has a primal place in our homes, that binds us to the best bits of life. — Jamie Oliver

I like ties but I prefer not to wear one when I'm nervous. — Jamie Oliver

Sugar is the next tobacco, without a doubt, and that industry should be scared. It should be taxed just like tobacco and anything else that can, frankly, destroy lives, — Jamie Oliver

Imagine a world where children were fed tasty and nutritious, real food at school from the age of 4 to 18. A world where every child was educated about how amazing food is, where it comes from, how it affects the body and how it can save their lives. — Jamie Oliver

In England, you're allowed to have an opinion - as long as it comes out of your mouth. — Jamie Oliver

We're in a situation now where weight and extreme weight and heart disease is the biggest killer in this country today. — Jamie Oliver

I hear loads of cynics saying that I'll never be able to change anything. They say that junk food marketing and the ready availability of fast food is just too powerful. But I'd say in response, screw you. I know that most people, if they're really honest, are fed up with the same old rubbish — Jamie Oliver

Every child should be taught to cook in school, not just talk about nutrition all day. Good food can be made in 15 minutes. This could be the first generation where the kids teach the parents. — Jamie Oliver

I wish for everyone to help create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity. — Jamie Oliver

I'm better with my hands, and I always loved the slightly romantic idea of starting with bits of wood and being able to create something to sit on, to eat from, to store your clothes in. — Jamie Oliver

My general rule is that if everyone knew how to cook fresh produce from their local area, and Monday to Thursday within 20 minutes, you know, there's millions of recipes out there to be had. — Jamie Oliver

The whole idea is to earn the flavor. No one gives it to you. — Jamie Oliver

What I've enjoyed most, though, is meeting people who have a real interest in food and sharing ideas with them. Good food is a global thing and I find that there is always something new and amazing to learn - I love it! — Jamie Oliver

There is not one thing we can do to fix the problem, it has to be an ambush! — Jamie Oliver

It's just us trying to start a movement where everybody passes on a bit of cooking knowledge. We estimate that one person can potentially affect 180 others very quickly so we're just trying to spread the word. — Jamie Oliver

I wouldn't say that processed food, ready meals and even takeaways aren't relevant to modern life, it's just that over the past 40 years there are three generations of people who have come out of school and gone through their home life without ever being shown how to cook properly. — Jamie Oliver

But I read Catching Fire. I loved disappearing into a story. — Jamie Oliver

The best food I've ever eaten in my life has come from the poorest communities. — Jamie Oliver