Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has launched an extraordinary attack on the British - portraying them as uncivilised materialists obsessed with a "culture of alcohol".

The 33-year-old describes his fellow countrymen's materialistic attraction to widescreen TVs, cars, mobile phones, and - above all else - beer as being symptomatic of "the new poverty" blighting the UK.

Oliver's latest attack follows a joke he made about the Holocaust last week, when dozens of Germans complained that he was insulting them.

This time the cook, who made his name as The Naked Chef in the late 90s, has turned his fire on everything from the paucity of British cooking to binge drinking.

In an interview in the latest edition of Paris Match magazine published in French, Oliver contrasts the country with France, where old fashioned cutoms are still observed.

Oliver even claims that he had found a better range of food in African slums than in his home country, where people were more interested in getting "drunk in pubs" than eating well.

Commenting on the fact that 80 per of the British do not even bother sitting round a table for dinner any more, Oliver says: "It's true in the centre of London and in the big northern cities. It's linked to the new poverty.

"It's nothing to do with famine or war - quite the opposite. England is one of the richest countries in the world.

"The people I'm telling you about have huge TV sets - a lot bigger than mine! - they have state-of-the-art mobile phones, cars, and they go and get drunk in pubs at the weekend - their poverty shows in the way they feed themselves.

"I found the cooking of the inhabitants of the slum in Soweto in South Africa a lot more diverse than ours. It's true! I'm going to be harsh, but I think a lot of English people's food lacks heart. It's bland." When it was suggested that the English can't savour food because they drink too much, Oliver says: "It's true. Historically we've never produced wine. We have a culture of alcohol and we're more beer orientated: the only people who drink more than us are the Irish and the Scottish."

Asked by French interviewer Mariana Grepinet how British cuisine compared with French cuisine, Oliver says: "In the past British cuisine was similar to Italian cuisine nowadays, without the pasta and risotto. Steam cooking, grilled meat, herbs, spices - we used to cook fabulous dishes. It's all in the past!

"Unlike French people, and I regret it, we lost our traditions. In gastronomy, the world evolves and changes. And right in front of us, isolated from everything, you have France where nothing changes.

"It's not a judgement, it's an observation. In terms of grand restaurants, it seems to me that only one country competes with France, and that's Japan."

Significantly Oliver is planning a TV show in France. Asked what his links were with France, he says: "I don't have many. But I would like to shoot a TV programme soon.

"The French-English relationship amuses me. As neighbours, we criticise each other. We mock each other, but behind all this, we appreciate each other and we respect each other.

"I'd like to watch French women and observe them behind their ovens in their kitchens. "I'm sure that the rest of the world would love a series on French cuisine directed by an English chef! It would be crazy!" Oliver was born in Clavering, Essex, and learning to cook in his father's local pub. He is now said to be worth an estimated £25 million.

Despite his views on British culture, Olivier has always set himself up as a people's champion.

In 2005 he launched a school dinners campaign to improve the quality of food fed to pupils.

Last week Oliver told a live audience how his Jamie's Fowl Dinners show, about the treatment of intensively farmed chickens, was shown around the world.

In an apparent reference to the Holocaust, the presenter quipped that only German viewers had complained about the controversial scene in which a group of chicks was gassed in an example of cruel industry practices.

Do you agree with Jamie Oliver?


Jamie Oliver launches attack on British culture - Telegraph

I read this on Perez Hilton the other day. What he says definately applies to American culture as well.

i still would. . .

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buy me some shoes any maybe take me for cola?

His lisp makes me tingle in my pants

he is a fucking mockney prick

Nobber.

There's nothing wrong with a bit of binge drinking.

I think he's picking at a symptom of a problem rather than an actual problem.

I think the british have literally no idea how to handle national identity. I think we generally mock nationalism in other countries and thusly are quite afraid to take it on ourselves. in the food example, when the french mocked our cooking we basically took that and began to ridicule ourselves in that sort of jocular, self deprecating way we do to the point where everyone agrees.

I'm not particularly proud of being british and scottish, I am thoroughly unashamed of it though. I personally like scottish food, and whilst because I've tried many different types of food, I wouldn't eat it traditional stuff all the time, I still think our food has a place in the world and a characteristic that's pretty good.

of course most people here (in this country, not on KR) are quick to have a right good lol about fried mars bars and binge drinking and take some sychophantic pride in how appalling it is.

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Would you like a cigarette? They're quite exellent.

that could be true, my husband is always mocking the fact that i´m not ashamed to sound a little nationalist at times like it´s wrong to be proud of it or its culture. but at the same time i think brittish people won´t understand how attached they really are to their customs, they will come to brasil and they will wanna have pies and tea, instead of trying out new things lol

no, I don't think we do. it is a very complicated issue but you only have to look at the rather ugly ways nationalism erupts in sport here. it's because it's obviously acceptable to support your own team in sport so the whole place goes wild while it can.

nationalism almost seems like a low-brow property (or one of racists), it's generally thought that the more self-deprecating you can be the more intelligent you are.

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Would you like a cigarette? They're quite exellent.

I think it´s probably because of racism and xenophobia and people don´t wanna get associated with that? Just the word nationalism seems to bring that up, even tho, in theory, those are very different things.
When we were in England those little things, you know I remember people talking like they were ashamed of things, food, people´s ignorance etc. - when it´s really not their fault. Everywhere you go there will be ignorant people and people killing each other but that doesn´t mean that the country is rotten.
The only real bad thing, in my opinion, about the UK is the coffee?
And how obscenely expensive getting a flat to live will cost you?

I think Jamie will find that Britain would actually be a lot better without him in it.

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I think Jamie is cute, innocent and nice, but I just can´t watch him on tv going on about lovely radish, lovely basil, lovely leaves, plating things. Even that annoying pretentious nigella is better to watch because you can actually make what she makes and have a life outside the kitchen.

Woahwoahwoah.....let's not start saying things we can't take back now.

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oh yeah and he fucking griddles everything. what the fuck does that even mean?

lol

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they made soup out of my research turtles.

well i'm glad a british finally understands.

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¿Dónde está el discotech?

'british' is an adjective, not a noun.

well, not in my sentence, but things are crazy like that sometimes.

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Would you like a cigarette? They're quite exellent.

yeah he's a bit of a twat but he's got a point, the british do seem to have an issue with the booze...but then so do most countries. as for the food, who cares?! as long as people aren't eating deep fried mars bars (lol) for breakfast, lunch and dinner i think britain is pretty much the last country people should be picking on about food. i always thought the british diet just consisted of tea and jaffa cakes. brilliant.

It does but don't tell jamie.