By Sharnaz Shahid

Copyright hellomagazine

Jamie Oliver has issued a powerful and heartfelt warning to parents about how children’s palates are shaped, urging a return to basics amidst insights into his bustling family kitchen. The 50-year-old chef, known for transforming school dinners through various campaigns, is now focused on empowering parents to build their children’s relationship with real food from an early age.

Speaking about his new Little Food Library book series, Jamie told HELLO!: “Kids aren’t born wanting to eat chicken nuggets and chips. It’s called marketing.” For him, these new books are a crucial tool to “market, celebrate and educate kids about different ingredients, about what things go together, and how to make something that’s going to be delicious to eat.” He passionately believes: “As simple as this might sound, it’s profoundly important. The earlier parents and caregivers can start making real food for and with their kids, the better.”

Getting hands-on in the Oliver kitchen

So, how does the Oliver family, with children ranging from young to teens, foster this passion for cooking?

“Get them involved and get them confident in having fun with food – think bashing, ripping, tearing, stirring, squishing and squashing,” he added, revealing that his new books are packed with “plenty of action words” and are “super visual” – a nod to his own experience as a dyslexic kid.

Jamie stresses the importance of interaction with food beyond the kitchen. “If you can get to a farmers’ market or a local greengrocer, that’s a great place to start – you don’t even have to buy anything, just take a walk and let the passionate sellers explain their wares and inspire interest in your kids. Make it an adventure and let your kids have choices, just make sure they’re choices between good and good, not good and bad.”

Cooking from the high chair up

When should parents start? “I think it’s just about letting your kids see you cook from the youngest age, even if they’re sitting in a high chair watching from a distance,” he shared. “Let them pick things up, let them taste things, let them play with food.” Jamie also states that as your children grow, “you can start letting them do little jobs for you, and build up to working with knives and other kitchen equipment. I was taught to use a kitchen knife around the age of eight (always supervised by my parents, of course).”

On challenging the modern approach to overprotect, he added: “We tend to wrap kids up in cotton wool when it comes to cooking. We let them climb trees, ride bikes, learn to backflip, but we’re scared of the kitchen. It’s OK to tell a child that something is dangerous, then teach them how to do it safely, that’s what learning is all about.” As for his family’s favourite meal to cook together? “I’ll cook whatever gets them excited about helping out in the kitchen,” he noted. “Recently, that’s been making a batch of bread dough that I’ll keep in the fridge, ready to take in whichever way takes our fancy – pizza, garlic bread, chocolate loaf… I’ll take the kids’ lead on that!”

The fight for food education

Jamie’s dedication extends beyond his own kitchen. He’s been a vocal campaigner for better food in schools for over a decade, and while he’s seen changes, he believes it’s “not enough”. He firmly stated: “We seem to live in a time where we still think cooking, food education, and how we nourish our kids for 190 days of the year at school is a luxury, not a necessity. Our kids in the UK are some of the unhealthiest in Europe, yet we don’t take enough action.”

The doting dad argues that fundamental cooking skills are as crucial as learning to read and write, equipping children to thrive. His campaigning journey hasn’t been without its challenges, admitting it’s “difficult to put yourself out there” and navigate the changing political landscape. “There are times when it’s tough, of course, and you wonder whether it’s worth it,” he continued. “But I think I’ll be doing this for a good many years to come, and I’m hoping to steadily bring people, businesses and governments with me. We can’t carry on the way we are. Something has to change.”