I came across a post during the week about an interview with Jamie Oliver.
Those who live on distant shores will likely have never heard of him, but the long and short of it is he’s a well-known British chef with a string of restaurants.
Anyway, according to this post, Jamie said:
“I’ve never learned anything interesting about cooking from a rich person.”
He then went on to describe how the best food lessons he’s ever learned came from the poorest people in the world.
Why?
Because they have to get creative.
They take very basic, very cheap ingredients, and somehow have to make them taste good. The result of this is amazing recipes that the rest of the world imports and, more importantly, a skill worth preserving.
Jamie went on to say how in the UK, we don’t have any of that.
(I agree.)
We’re happy to just eat whatever slop the supermarket shelves proffer so long as it tastes good enough (for long enough) to swallow.
He then explains this is why we so often see a correlation between income and poor health or obesity; not because eating healthily has to be expensive, but because it’s not prioritised.
This is what keeps him going — his mission, if you will.
To show people they can eat very well, for not a lot, provided they have some basic skills.
Overall, I’d say this is a good message, but, of course, this is 2025.
Good ideas tend to get shat on and ridiculed more often than bad ones (yet, it’s these same incels complaining about the tsunami of “slop” flooding their feeds. Go figure.).
Apparently, the interview captured an array of comments ranging from:
“Oh yeah, thanks Jamie. Because cooking lessons will eradicate the wealth gap 🤦”
To…
“Easy for you to say… you’ve got money.”
It’s attitudes like this that show a lot of what’s wrong with my country right now (and yet another reason why the Watson clan will be leaving it).
There’s no enthusiasm or desire to do better.
And there’s certainly no applause for those who do.
I say all of this very much as a sinner, by the way.
I’m a serial snacker and a frequent donor at the local fish and chip shop, but I also know how to cook good food and have eaten it long enough to enjoy its benefits.
I see it from both sides and know which one I stand on.
“Watson, I agree we should all be eating celery sticks and smoked salmon for lunch, but you do realise the time of the year it is, right?”
Of course, my dubious disciple.
I am well aware of the gluttony awaiting us next week (which I also plan to take full advantage of). However, if you thought this email was about diet, you’re sorely mistaken, Legionnaire.
THIS IS ABOUT ATTITUDE — NOT FOOD.
The right mindset will take you much farther than a bad one ever will, whether that’s with diet, work, relationships, exercise, or even my lowly trade of writing.
Without the correct attitudes, I know for sure you wouldn’t be reading these emails because you’d have never read my books.
Because they’d have never existed.
It doesn’t bear thinking, right?
A world with The Divided Region… Curse of Abbey Ruins… Tiny Epics: Vol. 1?
🫢
No, no, I couldn’t inflict such a tragedy on humanity.
Have a great weekend.
DJJW