Jamie Oliver has admitted that he hires “offence advisers” to verify his recipes in order not to be accused of cultural theft.
46-year-old celebrity chef said that his 2012 ‘Empire Roast Chicken’ recipe would not be accepted today, despite being a “bloody good” recipe.
He spoke out about being accused of cultural appropriation. And then you go, “Well, we don’t want to offend anyone”.’
Oliver explained that, as a result of this decision, he employed “teams of cultural-appropriation specialists” to avoid insensitivity accusations.
This comes as Oliver has already sold 48,000,000 books since 1999. He previously caused controversy by creating his own version of traditional recipes.
For his launching of ‘punchy, jerk rice’ in 2018, Dawn Butler MP (Labour’s former shadow women’s equalities minister) accused him of cultural appropriation.
In 2014, he angered West Africans by posting a Jollof-style rice recipe to his website. This triggered a massive backlash that was dubbed “Jollofgate”.
Jamie Oliver has admitted that he hires “offence advisers” to verify his recipes in order not to be accused of cultural theft
French chef Raymond Blanc, the chef patron at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire, said if he was to create a recipe from another country, he would speak to people from there first.
According to him, “It is up to us professionals that that be done in a manner which is not offensive,” he said. However, he also stated that allegations of cultural appropriation shouldn’t always be seen as a negative but rather as an opportunity for ‘cultural enrichment”.
His words were that’multiculturalism’ and ‘cultures’ are a result of thousands of years worth of travel.
Georgina Hayden is a food writer who was also a judge for The Great Cookbook Challenge, Channel 4. She said that it was essential that chefs immerse themselves in culture so they can be’respectful’ and ‘authentic’.
Back in 2018, Dawn Butler, the MP for Brent Central in north west London, picked up on comments from social media about Oliver’s ‘punchy jerk rice’ and joined in with her own criticism.
Oliver, she suggested, was using the term jerk in order to sell more rice. His product wasn’t faithful to the original Caribbean recipe that is usually used as a marinade to meat.
He also suggested that the Labour MP ask Levi Roots (the creator of Reggae Reggae Sauce), to help him learn about it.
Ms Butler tweets: #jamieoliver @jamieoliver – I was just curious if you knew what #Jamaican #jerk is.
“It is not just something you use to describe products. @levirootsmusic needs to give a masterclass. It is unacceptable to eat jerk rice. It is time to end this appropriation of Jamaican jerk rice.
The term jerk could refer to any type of cooking, which includes marinating meat with a mixture of spices or the marinade. Jamaica was the first to use it.
The main ingredients of the spice mix are allspice, Scotch bonnet and other peppers.
Oliver defends the name of this ready-to-eat meal after Rustie Lee, a Caribbean chef claimed that the recipe was ‘nothing at all to do with jerk.
Oliver, the Labour shadow women’s equalities minister Dawn Butler MP (and other social media users) were accused in 2018 of cultural appropriation.
Oliver, a Jollof cook, angered West Africans by using a Jollof dish. Oliver was also criticised because he used cherry tomatoes from the vine. Jollof rice has traditionally been made with bell peppers and blended tomatoes.
Motley Musings’ blogger stated at the time that: “We must ask ourselves who benefits actually from Jamie Oliver’s” appreciation for Jollof rice. It doesn’t automatically translate to value for Africans.
“For many years, African culture has been stolen without direct benefit to Africans, and this is why people are so sensitive.”
Jonathan Meades, critic, previously stated that chefs shouldn’t be afraid of offending “the guardians” or “the guardians” of authenticity. He argued, “Without cultural appropriation, there’s only stagnation.”
Oliver is not the only one to have been charged with cultural appropriation.
Gordon Ramsay and Angela Hui were embroiled in an argument in 2019. She accused her of making a series of offensive and derogatory social media posts after accusing him of cultural theft over Lucky Cat’s Mayfair restaurant Lucky Chinese.
After a criticism of Gordon Ramsay’s fake Chinese restaurant Lucky Cat, Mayfair in 2017, she said he was culturally appropriating her words. After revealing her carbonara recipe with cream and not raw eggs, Nigella Lawson received ridicule from Italian chefs.
She wrote a harsh review for London Eater, calling the venture “nothing but a real Ramsay kitchen nightmare”.
Ramsay was not amused by social media messages Ms Hui allegedly sent to Ben Orpwood’s partner, calling her a “token Asian wife”
Ramsay stated that the slew derogatory, and offensive posts on Angela Hui’s social media channels were not professional.
After revealing her carbonara recipe with cream and not raw eggs, Nigella Lawson received ridicule from Italian chefs in 2017.