There are lots of places to lead and lots of ways. Who would have guessed one place would be the school cafeteria?
Jamie Oliver, the energetic British celebrity chef and star of the The Naked Chef has turned his enthusiasm, talent and celebrity towards making the world a better place, particularly for kids.
Oliver, who left school at age16 “with no qualifications”, has returned to school, this time as a celebrity and on a mission to change the lives and health of school children. With him is a petition with more than 270,000 signatures.
The self-proclaimed, “Salad Boy” launched the Feed Me Better campaign after he volunteered to cook at one school and thereby “ban the junk and get good, fresh food back in schools.” Soon several schools were added and now the British government has provided funding for ingredients and training. As the Feed Me Better website says, the campaign is “starting a revolution in your school dining hall.”
Four years ago, the savvy Oliver filmed his culinary experiment where he served 20,000 school meals a day to school kids in a London district. The series, Jamie’s School Dinners initially was broadcast on British TV and is now available on DVD.
Oliver has also been busy opening restaurants that help underprivileged youth. He established the Fifteen restaurant in 2002. Fifteen restaurants employ and train “15”disadvantaged young people. All profits go to the Fifteen Foundation to provide these young people with the working environment in which to expand their knowledge and practical experience. Plans for similar restaurants are underway around the globe: Fifteen Amsterdam was opened in December 2004, Fifteen Cornwall in Newquay opened last month and Fifteen Melbourne is scheduled for opening this summer.
Enthusiasm. Hustle. Commitment. Expertise. Innovation. It’s contagious. It inspires. It changes lives. Good work Jamie. Keep leading.
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