"jamie oliver" news and stories

We're not sure if the folks in the City of Watsonville, California, were fans of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, but we're pretty sure the star-chef would give a high-five to its council members. In a 6-1 vote on Tuesday, members passed a Healthy Eating Options ordinance, requiring all new restaurants (and existing restaurants looking to expand), to offer healthy options on their menus if they want to secure a building permit.

"It's a very attainable requirement," says Marcela Tavantzis, assistant city manager. "We're not trying to dissuade businesses from coming to Wastonville. The threshold is very low, but it's designed to get restaurants to think about their selections."

The ordinance is based on a point system determined by a list of options. Offering whole-grain bread will earn a restaurant one point. Prepare fish, chicken or beef by broiling, baking or poaching? Bingo! Two points. Offer water free of charge to customers? Yup. That's another point. To secure a permit, restaurateurs need a total of six points. Existing restaurants are also encouraged, but not required, to participate. Certificates are given to businesses that earn nine points, while restaurants that reach 13 will be able to proudly display a Golden Carrot Award. (Sounds like hot-dog joints should rethink the new construction in Watsonville.)

Thinking about dressing up as Cheese Whiz for Halloween? Then you'll want to stop by Chipotle for a $2 burrito before you head out trick-or-treating.

Or make that a "Boorito." In its latest costume contest, Chipotle is encouraging you to dress up as the "most horrifying processed-food product" you can think of, or you can take one of their suggestions: chicken nuggets, canned pasta, frozen pizzas, hot dogs or lunch meats. (Good luck finding a bologna costume at your local costume shop.)

And what do you get for dressing up like a weenie? Essentially, about $4 off any Chipotle menu item.

Is it worth it? Maybe you can't put a price on a social conscience. The contest is ostensibly about highlighting the "horrors of processed foods," which, according to the chain's website, "fail to provide key nutrients that are important to overall nutrition and, along with excessive portion sizes, are often related to the increased incidence of obesity and diabetes in America."

It's no coincidence that Chipotle bills its "food with integrity" as the healthier antidote to ordinary fast food.

Lame PR stunt or goodwill gesture? It's hard to tell, but the company is donating up to $1 million of proceeds from the contest to Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. And if you take your picture in costume at your local Chipotle and post it on the company's website, you'll be registered to win up to $2,500. Not so cheesy, after all.

That should more than cover the cost of dry cleaning your Chicken McNugget ensemble.

ABC announced yesterday (Sept. 2) that Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution will return for a second season, this time taking place in Los Angeles. ABC tells Slashfood that the six-episode season is projected to air sometime in Spring 2011, but that's still to be confirmed.

The series recently won the Emmy for "Outstanding Reality Program" -- Oliver challenged young residents of Huntington, West Virginia, to alter their lifestyles in hopes of curbing obesity, heart disease and diabetes. The first season debuted on March 21, 2010, and the series averaged around 4 million viewers per week.

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution is loosely adapted from his British series Jamie's Ministry of Food and Jamie's School Dinners, which challenged the British school systems to change how they fed students. A second season renewal in the U.S. is clearly a coup for Oliver: As U.S. audiences become more familiar with "The Naked Chef," he stands to surge ahead in popularity over the prickly British "hell" chef Gordon Ramsey. Instead of yelling at people, Oliver chooses an inspiring and tactful approach, hoping to help others grow. Revolutionary, indeed.

For those who can't get enough of Oliver, he's releasing his latest cookbook Jamie's America: Easy Twists on Great American Classics and More! (Hyperion) this October.

"Flash salt" your tomatoes, as blogger nami-nami does in this recipe, for added flavor and less juice in your salad. She took a tip from chef Jamie Oliver, in his book Jamie at Home, and sprinkled tomatoes and red onion slices with sea salt and allowed them to season and drain for 15 minutes. Another unique touch to this salad is flowering oregano, which is not only visually beautiful but offers an even more vibrant taste as it reaches the flowering point.

There's no better time than August to play with tomatoes, and Kitchen Daily has a world of tomato recipes to share.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool for a shot of having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

Parting is such sweet sorrow -- as in, refined, artificially colored, high-fructose sorrow. Now that Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution has reached the end of its special six-episode run on ABC, it's time to reflect upon what we've learned. So in the spirit of the show, here's a few CliffsNotes from Jamie's eating-revolution lesson plan.

Lesson 1: You can keep the kids away from the strawberry-flavored milk, but you can't keep the strawberry-flavored milk away from the kids.

In this last installment, Jamie's been away from the high-obesity burgh of Huntington, W.Va. for about three months, long enough for him to promote his cause on a zillion talk shows, and long enough for those pesky prefab junk-food suppliers to weasel their products back into cafeterias.

Read more of our take on the season finale of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution after the jump...