British food always gets knocked about, and now it's getting an added slap from Jamie Oliver. The BBC reports that Paris Match magazine has interviewed the popular celebrity chef, who is not too happy about the state of food in the UK. In fact, he even said that there was a better variety of food in South African slums.

But he doesn't think it was always that way. He says that "We have lost our traditions," and that Britain's "poverty shows in the way they feed themselves." Basically, he says they do so by spending everything on technology and booze, rather than meals around the dinner table -- something that seems far from UK-centric.

The Sydney Morning Herald also notes that Oliver went on to discuss how well France has kept up their food traditions, and how he'd like to shoot a new television show there. My suggestion: Oliver should go to France, research the continuing traditions practiced there and then head back to the UK for a British food Renaissance.

I jumped on the Jamie Oliver train really late -- sometime in the last year. I was so annoyed at first that the "naked chef" moniker was used to make a not-quite-what-you-think pun that I didn't pay him much mind. Then I started watching him go to town on food using only a cutting board on his lap. I was hooked.

Behold my surprise to walk down the street the other day and find The Naked Chef Takes Off nestled on a discount table! I grabbed it, went home, and proceeded to drool all over the pages. Set up more like a visual conversation than a cookbook, The Naked Chef Takes Off tackles recipes often in paragraph form, often without even a list of ingredients. This cookbook is like calling up a chef friend and asking them what you should make. This isn't a stern collection of recipes cut in stone, but more of a helpful guideline to either fall or skim for ideas. And every step of the way, Jamie shares his two cents.

It all starts out with pantry basics and a brief how-to about herbs before dipping into breakfasts, tapas/snacks, salads, soups, pasta, seafood, meat and poultry, veggies, bread, desserts, drinks, and extra things like stocks and sauces. If you haven't checked this out yet, you should. If you have it -- what's your favorite recipe?

Is the storage space in your kitchen so small that it gets filled when you buy a box of cereal and a couple of cans of soup? Or are you the kind of person who rarely cooks and so hasn't invested much time or energy in acquiring the needed pots and pans to do anything more complex than boil some water? Or maybe your just starting out in the world of cooking and want to get some useful cookware but you don't want to dedicate a huge amount of your life or budget to it.

If you are any of these types of people, then Jamie Oliver has something for you. It's called the Tefal Survival Kit and it is a set of cooking equipment that fits together into single, nice, neat stack. When taken apart it contains a wok, frying pan, sauce pan, two glass lids, and a universal handle so that you don't burn your fingers. Best of all it comes in a fun, blue camouflage pattern. Unfortunately, right now it looks like it is only available in the UK, but if you are dying to have in here in the States, you can order it through Amazon's UK store and pay international shipping.

[via the Kitchn]

As luscious as fruit tarts can be, there will always be those who insist that a dessert is not complete unless chocolate is involved in it. These particular Little Chocolate Tarts are the creation of Jules, of the food blog Stone Soup. While you will have to bake up the mini tart shells yourself, the filling is surprisingly simple. It is basically the same rich, creamy chocolate ganache that you find in truffles and is made of high quality dark chocolate and cream, melted together and poured into the shells to firm up. Each one, no matter how small you make the tart cases, is going to be an intense chocolate experience and should more than satisfy the chocolate lover.

These tarts were the dessert that followed a dinner of Jamie Oliver recipes, all taken from Jamie's Italy, and included Italian buffalo mozzarella, roasted chili & basil crostini, artichoke & parmesan crostini (easy and great choices for holiday party appetizers) and a risotto of mussels & fennel.

Jamie Oliver is really passionate about making sure that kids get healthy food. Really passionate. He has even, in recent weeks, been known to call parents who feed their kids junk foods a few less-than-complimentary names. As a result of his very bluntly voiced opinions, his popularity is on something of a yo-yo, as people are alternately pleased and offended by his level of concern. One of his shows, Jamie's School Dinners, is about to go into its second season in the UK and its first in Australia, though there doesn't seem to be a scheduled air date in the US in the very near future. The show was, and still is, intended to reveal how inadequate school-prepared meals are, in terms to quality and nutrition.

With the popularity of Super Size Me, Fast Food Nation and Chew On This, the show appeals to anyone who is interested in health, nutrition and what kids are eating. It's probably only a matter of time before the show makes it into the US, too. If you haven't seen it yet, and want to get a feel for the program's content, take a look at the video clip after the jump, which features Jamie showing some kids what exactly goes into those salty little bits of breaded and fried processed meat: chicken nuggets.

The Times today lists the top ten 'celebrity chef' restaurants in London and the South East.

1. Royal Hospital Road, 68-69 Royal Hospital Road, London SW3, London, SW3 Chef: Gordon Ramsey [details]
2. The Connaught, London, W1 Chef: Angela Hartnett "one of only a handful of women in the country to hold a Michelin star" [website]
3. Millennium Hotel, Grosvenor Square, London, W1 Chef: Brian Turner "Turner himself is often to be spotted nipping in and out of the kitchen" [website]
4. The Fat Duck, Bray, Berkshire Chef: Heston Blumenthal [website]
5. Fifteen, 15 Westland Place, London, N1 Chef: Jamie Oliver [website]
6. Locanda Locatelli, 8 Seymour Street, London W1 Chef: Giorgio Locatelli [website]
7. Notting Grill, 123a Clarendon Road, London W11 Chef: Antony Worrall Thompson [website]
8. Rhodes Twenty Four, Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, London EC2 Chef: Gary Rhodes [details]
9. Lindsay House, 21 Romilly Street, London W1 Chef:Richard Corrigan [details]
10. Smiths of Smithfields, 67-77 Charterhouse Street, London EC1 Chef: John Torode [details]

[Photo Andrew Barrow]

Popular British chef Jamie Oliver is starting a new series, but he won’t be seen on your TV. Jamie will be doing podcasts that deal with advice and cooking how-tos. Every topic tackled during the podcast will be in response to a query from a real cook who needs help in their kitchen. To get your question to Jamie, all you have to do is dial the dedicated phone line that takes podcast messages: 44 (0)207 043 8223. There is a 30 second time limit for messages and, as it is a standard London number, standard rates apply from wherever in the world you are calling. The best and funniest questions will make it on the air when the podcast launches later this year.

Yep, time to club to death as many of the little grey buggers as you can to save our native British red squirrel. Shrove 'em in the pot and ignore the squeals of our children!

As the government is not willing to order a cull of the grey squirrel in order to save the red, a Conservative Party Peer says that Jamie Oliver should be encouraging our schoolchildren to eat them.

"I must confess that I have never actually eaten a grey squirrel... but I am prepared to give it a go," said one Lord Inglewood. 

Red squirrels are at the brink of extinction in the UK due to the dominence of the grey which were introducted from North America in the 19th century.

Who knew The Naked Chef was such a passionate critic? Well, quite a few people, apparently. As I blogged the other day, Jamie Oliver has all but revolutionized the English school cafeteria by figuring out how to serve fresh, healthy foods for only marginally more than frozen, fat saturated crap. He's in the States this week talking about the project, and he made a surprisingly aggressive pitch on WNYC's Leonard Lopate Show this morning. It's worth a listen: Oliver strikes out against everything from American big business to the politics of free will – all whilst ostensibly railing against fried food.