Discussion Club Intermediate: Jamie Oliver

Jamie Oliver

ex. 1 Read Jamie Oliver’s quotations and express your opinion:

“I'm probably a bit romantic about it, but I think we humans miss having contact with fire. We need it.”
“We're in a situation now where weight and extreme weight and heart disease is the biggest killer in this country today.”

ex. 2 Study the vocabulary and listen to the audio about Jamie Oliver:

at remarkably young age – в удивительно раннем возрасте

growing popularity – растущая популярность

to be content with something – быть довольным чем-либо

all over the world – по всему миру

it's in my blood – это в моей крови

to show an interest in something – показывать интерес к чему-либо

to peel potatoes – чистить картошку

lasting relationship – длительные отношения, многолетние отношения

eventually – в конце концов, в итоге

to have a stroke of luck – повезти кому-либо

his career took off – его карьера началась

complicated techniques – сложные техники

overnight success – молниеносный успех

trendy - модный

severe food critic – суровый ресторанный критик

ex. 3 Complete the sentences:

The well-known chef, Jamie Oliver, was brought up in _______ in the country.
Jamie started to help prepare meals at the age of _______.
In London, Jamie met his future wife, Jools, who was working as a _______.
Jamie appeared briefly in a _______ about The River Cafe in London where he was working.
The recipes in Jamie's first TV series were _______ but used good ingredients.
Jamie's food was popular because it matched the _______ of his trendy young audience.
Both Jamie's TV series and his _______ were very successful.
Jamie helped to prepare the food for the guests at his _______.
Jamie then opened his own restaurant and trained _______ and inexperienced teenagers.
Apart from cooking, Jamie enjoys playing the _______ in a band with his old schoolfriends.

ex. 4 Answer the questions:

What is Jamie Oliver famous for?
Where did he grow up? What did he do when he was a child?
How and where did he start his TV career?
Where did he meet his wife? Who is she? Was their wedding special?
Why were his TV cooking programmes so popular? Who were his audience?
Who works in his restaurant?
What is Jamie's hobby?

Do you remember? Vocabulary on topic "Food"

ex. 1 Explain what the following words and word combinations mean:

to heat up
wholemeal bread
snack
fuel
insect
to precede
profitable
substance
solids and liquids
nutrients

ex. 2 Finish the sentences:

For me food is fuel because…
I find it hard to cut down on chocolate, it just…
They couldn’t eat out very often, so she…
I find healthy food…
Food supplements are good for you when you…
In order to prevent food spoilage you have to…
People prefer ready-cooked meals because…

ex. 4 Put the verbs in correct form, using Present Continuous, Present Simple or “to be going to”:

We plan to go to Italy next year: we ______ (to stay) in a five star hotel in Venice for seven days and then ______ (to visit) France.
“When ______ the plane ______ (to depart)?” “If I am not mistaken, it ______ (to depart) at 7pm. They ______ (to start) registering in one hour. We better hurry up!”
“Did you like yesterday’s film? I ______ (to go to the cinema) tomorrow with Anne. Do you recommend it?”
“Listen, I ______ (to finish) work and______ (to come) to your Jerry’s place tonight. But if you mind it, I can always spend the night with you.”
“What ______ you ______ (to buy)?” “I ______ (to need) to buy yoghurts and wholemeal bread for my mom. ______ you ______ (to come) with me? You will be of a great help for me!”
“The train ______ (to leave) in ten minutes! Please take your seats. Our next stop ______ (to be) Olive Garden.”

ex. 5 Translate:

Она никогда не могла отказать себе в сладостях и поэтому страдала избыточным весом.
Современная молодежь должна больше знать о здоровом питании.
В молекулярной кулинарии повара создают блюда при помощи порошков, различных жидкостей, чистых компонентов и других питательных веществ.
Он пьет чай с двумя ложками сахара.
Из-за нехватки кальция в его питании, ему приходится принимать пищевые добавки.
Они смогли сделать из здорового питания прибыльный бизнес.
Ему повезло и он стал популярным практически за ночь!
Так началась его карьера и в итоге он открыл собственный ресторан и выпустил книгу.

Reading

Before reading please look through the vocabulary:

bewilderment – потрясение, замешательство

elsewhere – где-либо еще

convenience food - продукты, готовые к употреблению

to urge – призывать, убеждать

groceries - бакалея

limited budget – ограниченный бюджет

to dictate size – диктовать размер

to knock out (an amazing pizza) – состряпать (на скорую руку)

to miss out on something – лишать себя чего-либо, упускать что-либо

Jamie Oliver and Modern-Day Poverty

(an extract from “The Guardian” article)

Jamie Oliver said that he cannot understand "modern-day poverty in Britain". In an interview with the Radio Times, Oliver expressed bewilderment that poorer Britons would choose cheap fast food while spending their money elsewhere.

"The fascinating thing for me is that seven times out of 10, the poorest families in this country choose the most expensive way to hydrate and feed their families. The ready meals, the convenience foods."

Oliver urged people to switch from shopping at supermarkets to buying smaller quantities of groceries from their local market. He said that Britain had much to learn from Italy and Spain about buying fresh produce and eating well on a limited budget. He complained that most people were more loyal to a particular supermarket "than any religion or brand".

"One of the other things we look at in the series is going to your local market, which is cheaper anyway, but also they don't dictate size," Oliver said. "From a supermarket you're going to buy a 200g bag of this or a 400g pack of that. If you're going past a market, you can just grab 10 mange tout (snow peas) for dinner that night, and you don't waste anything."

"I meet people who say, 'You don't understand what it's like.' I just want to hug them and teleport them to the Sicilian street cleaner who has 25 mussels, 10 cherry tomatoes, and a packet of spaghetti for 60 pence, and knocks out the most amazing pasta. You go to Italy or Spain and they eat well on not much money. We've missed out on that in Britain, somehow."

Discuss the following:

Do you agree with Jamie Oliver? Do you think that it’s hard for poor people to eat healthily? Or is it just people’s laziness?
Why do people buy a lot of ready meals? Why is it more popular today than it has even been before?
Do you think that the quality of food in schools is a problem nowadays in your country? Who are responsible for children’s diet?
Do you think that obesity is a norm or a disease? How can we fight with obesity among children? Whose fault is it?
Who of the following commenters do you agree with? Why?

Comments:

Research shows that in developed countries obesity is more common the poorer you are; but it also shows that more people are obese in more unequal countries. If our government introduced initiatives to tackle our high level of inequality, it could significantly reduce obesity and improve the health of the country for little or no cost.

Bill Kerry - Secretary, The Equality Trust

Does he really think a single parent trying to hold down two minimum-wage cleaning jobs has time to prepare "something that's been slow cooked" or extract "amazing texture" from stale bread? Sometimes chips and cheese or burgers may be the logical option: they're quick and provide a high calorie content per pound spent. If he really wants to improve the eating habits of poorer Britons, Oliver should turn his attention to inadequate pay at the bottom of our economy.

Simon Samuroff - Harrow, Middlesex

Here in Thornton Heath there are a lot of individuals and families in so-called B&Bs provided by the council; across the country there are many thousands. They have no cooking facilities. Given 30 minutes and any number of ingredients, they cannot cook any food at all. How do those people eat healthily?

John Fullman - London

It's not just schools that should be stopped from selling crisps, Snickers bars and Coke (Bad habits that kill, 28 August). Hospitals are full of shops selling chocolate, crisps and fizzy drinks. It's sometimes hard to find anything healthy in them at all, while in the wards languish people with obesity-related diseases.

Carol Ross - Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire