JamieOliver.com

the big give and new podcast

Tue 19 Feb 2008 @ 18:27 Hi guys,

Just to let all of you know I'm off to the States this week. A show I'm in called The Big Give is airing over there on ABC on March 2nd. The Big Give is a very exciting reality programme. The basic premise of the show is that ten people are given weekly challenges to find out who can give the most. These ten people are all wonderful and have been doing good things for other people in some way, shape or form for years. Every week, in different parts of America, we’ll be watching them get stuck into their challenges.

From small, intimate gestures to large, entrepreneurial ideas these guys achieve some really incredible results. The show celebrates the best of human nature and I'm proud to be a part of it. I’m hoping it will send some ripples of positivity around America. Watch out for me on Oprah as I'll be promoting The Big Give on her show.

On February 21st I'll be in Miami at the South Beach Food and Wine Festival. I'm really looking forward to it. I'll be doing cooking demonstrations with Rachael Ray. She's the big "cookery gal" over in the States and everyone loves her. I'll also be taking time out to be part of a panel at a symposium on children and obesity with Alice Waters and several medical experts. Alice is a really influential American chef who is concerned with getting kids to eat nutritional food. It's going to be interesting to hear about these issues from an American point of view.

Those of you who watched the chicken shows in January probably noticed that Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and I really bonded over the chicken campaign. A few weeks ago Hugh very kindly invited the current group of apprentices from Fifteen down to River Cottage for the day. The students had a brilliant time learning how to build a traditional clay oven and bake bread in it. You can check out the podcast by clicking here. A big thanks to Hugh and his team at River Cottage for the invitation, a wonderful lunch and for sharing the ethos behind River Cottage with the students.

So if you're in North America look out for me there, if not then check back here for my updates.

Love Jamie O xxx