Saint Jamie?

He definitely has the marmite factor, that Jamie Oliver but love him or loathe him, he can't be ignored. I love this messianic image of him from this month's Observer Food monthly. The interview covers his most recent TV project, The Ministry and talks about his relationship with that supermarket. Reading the comments on Word of Mouth, the Guardian/Observer's food blog really got me thinking. Is he a hero or just a dogmatic, swearing 'my-way or the highway' zealot?

Personally, I love him. Forget the campaigner, more than any other food writer, if I want a recipe for the whole family (including my fussy toddler) will enjoy or a one-pot delicious lunch with friends, it's Jamie's books I reach for. His barbecue sauce from Jamie's Kitchen was such a winner this summer, his Spring poached chicken from Jamie's Dinners embodies the dawning of that lighter but still warming food we all need post-winter and his mushroom bruschetta (Jamie's Kitchen) is the speedy supper for when you're really short of time.

He's criticised a lot for his work with Sainsbury's and in the article from Observer Food Monthly he refers to Sainsbury's as 'we', which the interviewer found strange - but after a decades work for them is it really so bizarre that he sees himself as a part of that organisation? Would he have been able to fund projects like 15 and the school dinners campaign without that cash?

The Ministry of Food, his most recent TV series has been knocked for seemingly having a pop at the working classes. One of the main protagonists featured in the series is a single mum of two, who until being taken under Jamie's wing had never cooked for her children and fed them chips and kebab meat for dinner every night. Whilst it's easy to point and mock, it's also easy to see why this woman was chosen as an example of where it's all gone wrong - people like this make good TV.

Still, the middle classes who do mock whilst tucking in to their M&S ready meal shouldn't feel too smug - the issues of obesity and the relationship we have with food are not easily defined by class. Not enough people cook, not enough people know how to cook but we sell hundreds of thousands of recipe books every year. We all buy the newest and latest games consoles for our kids, we all now have flat screen TVs on the wall but balk at spending over £1 for a loaf of bread or £4 for a whole chicken. We buy a litre of hot milk for £3 that tastes vaguely like coffee, cover it in caramel and then scream out in despair when we realise we've just consumed a third of our recommended daily intake of calories on the way to work. All Jamie is doing is holding up a mirror and showing us all, rich and poor, educated or illiterate that by and large we are all guilty and that we all need to change our food buying, cooking and eating habits.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2008/nov/15/food-monthly-jamie-oliver-ministry?commentpage=1

Credit Munch

I'm bored of the words 'credit crunch'. Anything related to our bleak economic prospects on the news and all I can hear is Charlie Brown's teacher. Still, every little helps as the nation's biggest supermarket says, so I'm hoping to offer some nuggets of money-saving wisdom.

We're not talking mock duck and Woolton pie just yet - we still need a few gastro treats and a little bit of shopping savvy can save you a fair bit. Take prosciutto: I bought some delicious parma ham from At Home deli in Cobham on Tuesday for £2.45/100g. Vac-packed parma ham from Tesco is advertised on their website at £2.46 (and the taste just doesn't compare); move on to Ocado and you're looking at paying a staggering £3.39 for a simple Italian prosciutto crudo.

For further savings, seek out Bayonne ham, which usually retails at sub-£2/100g or Spanish Serrano

So, don't believe the hype, the big boys are not always cheaper...

At Home is a deli and catering business based in the Surrey village of Cobham. It's a funny old place, Cobham - brimming with WAGs, expensive boutiques and those strange gift shops full of toot that bored, wealthy housewives love to own or spend money in. It should be beautiful but it's all just a little cold, a bit soulless.

At Home itself though is good - it's more than a deli - and they've catered for some cracking events over the years, including The Brits on a number of occasions. The homemade pies are delicious, the cheese looks good and the prices can be reasonable. It's one of the few outlets here that isn't part of a chain and we say hurrah to that...

Chez Julien deli in Surbiton

Sweet little deli with good french cheese - tried a fabulous Brie de Meaux, which was oozing and ripe without that over-the-top ammonia smell.

Also of note is the Bayonne ham - I just wish the slices were a bit thinner because that's how I like it, and that they would go to the effort of removing the rind (not the fat, just some of the rind).

What's bad: UHT milk in the coffee. Just no.

As the credit crunch bites and everyone downgrades from Waitrose to Lidl, let's here it for the little guys - all those indie food shops and delis that will really be feeling the effects of our belt-tightening.

I've tempered my food snobbery in recent months (since becoming a hausfrau, I've even shopped in Tesco, y'know) but there are some things that only the specialist shops do well, such as cheese. And it isn't always the more expensive option - in the future I'm hoping to back this up with real price comparisons in the hope that people will keep visiting their local indie for cheeses, charcuterie and bread.

My first ever blog...hmmmmmm