U.S. loses appetite for Jamie Oliver as 75 LA school districts turn away his Food Revolution show



Father of four moved family across to devote more time to healthy eating plan

Authorities tell him they can't afford to implement ideas

Struggling: 75 school districts in Los Angeles have turned down Jamie Oliver's plans to revolutionise their canteens

America would appear to be losing its appetite for British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

The TV star’s Food Revolution has hit the skids in Los Angeles after 75 school districts rebuffed his pleas to give their canteens a healthy makeover.



Oliver, 35, moved his family across the Atlantic last month planning to target the quality of meals in America’s second-largest school system.

But the father-of-four was forced to resort to pleading for an invitation to an LA school district in a speech at the weekend.

In last year’s ‘Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution,’ the chef clashed with lunch ladies in Huntington, West Virginia, when he blasted the meals they were serving.

Education insiders claim Los Angeles school canteen staff didn’t want to risk being embarrassed at a time when budget cuts have made it even more difficult to serve up healthy food.

The setback – in a city that usually welcomes celebrities with open arms – has come as a major blow to Oliver’s hopes of breaking through as a major star in the U.S.



David Binkle, LA Unified School District’s deputy food services director, even suggested before the speech that Oliver might do well to show some humility.

Giving the keynote address at the California School Nutrition Association in Pasadena on Saturday, Oliver conceded that the state’s schools were already leading the way by cutting out sodas and offering more fresh fruits and vegetables.

Resistant to change: Oliver battled to convince West Virginia children and parents alike of the value of a healthy diet

‘I come here humbly today,’ he said, but added that ‘many of you know you could do better if only you had half a second or more money'.

There was a mixed response to his appeals for support.

‘He has all these great ideas, but we are struggling now. Where is the money?’ Susan Tilsley, who supervises nutrition at 15 elementary schools in the San Juan Unified School District, told the Los Angeles Times.

Oliver said the second series of the ABC hit will go ahead in the Spring regardless of whether any schools allow him in.

Producers are also scanning the city for families who will let him into their kitchens to show him how they cook and eat.

Award-winning: Oliver won an Emmy for his crusade to improve the eating habits of America's youth

The chef, wearing his trademark scruffy jeans and plaid shirt, talked about his run-ins in West Virginia, including one much-publicised spat witb school cook Alice Gue.



‘Alice, who hated my guts, now has a promotion,’ he said.

In Huntington, some children couldn’t even identify common fruits and vegetables and Oliver’s stunts included dressing up as a pea pod and running around the school grounds.

Although he met resistance from locals angry at a foreigner trying to tell them how to eat, the programme was a ratings hit and won a TV Emmy for outstanding reality series.

While Los Angeles school bosses may not relish the prospect of Oliver putting the spotlight on their school meals, some nutritionists claim the city’s campuses should welcome him with open arms.

‘I think it would be a good thing if they loosened up and let a little light in. They just keep resisting what seems to be the inevitable change,’ said Megan Hanson, executive director of RootDown LA, which works with school students in poorer areas to improve nutrition.

Waiting in line: The queues to see the celebrity chef snaked around the building at the opening of Jamie's Kitchen last week