Jamie Oliver and the culture war against the working class

The mockney millionaire – like most woke activists – is repulsed by the tastes of ordinary people.

Jamie Oliver is outraged that supermarkets can continue to promote ‘buy one, get one free’ deals on food. In fact, the government’s about-turn on its anti-obesity strategy has so angered the podgy chef that last week he marched on Downing Street in protest. In what must surely have been the most middle-class demonstration ever, people carried placards stating ‘Slow down fast food’ and ‘Give peas a chance’. Oliver led the crowd, holding aloft a big bowl of Eton Mess dessert. Because Boris Johnson and a couple of other cabinet ministers went to posh schools and they’ve messed up, geddit?

A quick flick through one of his cookbooks is enough to make clear that it is the people who consume cheap food, rather than the cheap food itself, that gets Oliver riled up. Chicken giblets and scrawny turkey neck bones are absolutely fine when lightly roasted and mashed into wine and shallots to make gravy, but they are appalling when covered in breadcrumbs and shaped into nuggets. It’s the exact same food, with the exact same nutritional content. So what’s the difference? Chicken nuggets are cheap to buy, quick to cook and easy to eat. They’re immediately satisfying in a way that a plate of raw veg can never be. But thanks to Oliver and other culture warriors, whether you opt for a red wine jus with your free-range, organic roast chicken, or nine of McDonald’s finest, is not simply a matter of personal preference but a major political statement.