Comedian Harry Hill has admitted pushing a parody of Jamie Oliver’s cooking show too far, prompting an apology after the celebrity chef reacted strongly.
Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food Campaign
Oliver’s 2008 series, filmed in Rotherham, sought to establish the Yorkshire town as Britain’s culinary capital. The chef taught eight locals to prepare simple, fresh meals like spaghetti bolognese through a ‘pass it on’ initiative. Participants were encouraged to share their skills, aiming to inspire widespread home cooking of healthy dishes.
Hill’s ‘Turn It Off’ Satire
During his TV Burp show, Hill mocked the concept with a ‘turn it off’ campaign, urging viewers to simply switch off Oliver’s program. He replicated Oliver’s diagram showing exponential spread: ‘If you teach two people to make spaghetti bolognese, then they teach two friends, soon X amount of people will know how.’
Hill’s version twisted it: ‘If you tell two friends not to bother watching Jamie’s show, and they tell two friends…’
‘The only person who took exception was Jamie Oliver,’ Hill stated. ‘We did go a bit too far but we had a show to fill.’ Oliver responded furiously, refusing to supply further clips.
Video Apology to Mend Fences
Hill received a request from producers to apologize. ‘Jamie’s very upset. Can you do a video apologising to him?’ they asked.
He complied by filming himself in his kitchen, singing Stevie Wonder’s ‘I Just Called To Say I Love You,’ then displaying one of Oliver’s pans: ‘Look, I’ve even got one of your pans.’
