Jamie Oliver: American Road Trip

By JULIETTE ROSSANT To fundamentally comprehend the changes in American cuisine in the last half century, it is helpful to turn to foreign palates. It is the same with politics and culture. An outsider's comments are often more astute and perceptive then those from the inside. Think of Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America or more recently Anatol Lieven's America: Right or Wrong for thoughtful analysis of democracy in America. Jamie Oliver, the UK's crusading chef is exploring American in a "culinary backpacking road trip" called Jamie in America. The show is actually being filmed by Jamie's production company, Fresh One, for Britain's Channel 4, part of Jamie's 2 million pound "golden handcuffs" deal that ties him to the channel, according to UK newspapers. However, the plan is to sell it to the US market, and presumably to the Canadian and other English-language TV markets where Jamie already has a presence. Jamie will spend around 12 days a month in the US over the next few months. The Guardian quotes Dominique Walker, Channel 4 commissioning editor for factual entertainment: Filming has just got under way for next year's new series, Jamie in America. It certainly won't be a slice of American pie. Jamie will be on the road visiting towns and cities across the USA to unearth, eat and cook little-known gems of American cuisine and meet the characters behind them. It'll be a completely different side of Jamie. It will be a sort of culinary backpacking road trip for a chef. If the US is lucky, Jamie will import his crusades against poor school cafeteria food, factory chicken and egg farming, and obesity. He may well inspire American chefs to redouble their efforts to improve all American food. Previous articles: What's Cooking? with Jamie Oliver Branding: Jamie Oliver - Watching the Salt Jamie Oliver & Paul McCartney: - Anti-Landmine Campaign Jamie Oliver Label: Sainsburys v. Tesco Jamie Oliver: Chicken Out! Jamie Oliver: Jamie At Home Jamie Oliver: Cook with Jamie Jamie Oliver Cartoon By Aardman Jamie Oliver Betters British School Food FOOD PIX: Jamie Oliver Fat Suit Nora Sands: Nora's Dinners Jamie Oliver Signs Sainsbury's Jamie Oliver New Year: School Lunch Jamie Oliver on Vodafone Live! Jamie Oliver: Real Guts Fat Lady Sings Jamie Oliver Jamie Oliver: School Lunch July 4: East Meets West Wall Street Journal: Beef over Chef Sponsorship? Amazon UK's Steamy Xmas Chefs [Food Television - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging --> back to Super Chef