instagram Facebook Pinterest Twitter Email

Miss Marzipan logo

-

FOOD REVOLUTION DAY 2014 (get onboard with Jamie Oliver & a global community of foodies of all ages on May 16!)

There’s just one week to go until Food Revolution Day is upon us again.
Haven’t heard of it before? You’re welcome to check out my post about what we got up to for FRD 2013. For FDR info in a nutshell, read on. Or you can get all the information you possibly need, plus tips, links, freebies and recipes directly from foodrevolutionday.com 🙂

WHAT IS FOOD REVOLUTION DAY?

Food Revolution Day is a global day of action to keep cooking skills alive.
It’s about celebrating the importance of cooking good food from scratch and raising awareness of how it impacts our health and happiness – we believe that everyone should know about food and it starts with getting kids food smart, making cooking fun and inspiring a love of food that will last a lifetime. Food Revolution Day is a campaign by the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation in the UK and USA, and The Good Foundation in Australia. To date, 74 countries have taken part and over 900 ambassadors are championing our cause worldwide.

Food Revolution Day is open to anybody, whether you’re a school, organisation or individual.
Many activities are organised by supporters in their local area or voluntary Food Revolution ambassadors who champion food knowledge and cooking skills in their communities. To get involved, you can either organise your own activity, get in touch with your nearest ambassador to see what they’re doing, or apply to become an ambassador here.

Why have a day of action?
Learning about food and how to cook from scratch is one of the most valuable skills a child can ever learn.
This knowledge used to be passed down from generation to generation, but now, with an overreliance on unhealthy convenience foods, millions of people lack the confidence and even the most basic skills to cook for themselves and their families. By educating children about food in a fun and engaging way, we’re equipping them and future generations with the skills they need to live healthier lives.

 
MissMarzipan_Jamie_Oliver_FRD_2014

WHAT’S ON MY FDR AGENDA THIS YEAR?

Something incredibly simple, that I have dubbed (in my head!) “Cook from a Book!”. Like many people, I suppose, I covet cookbooks. I feel inspired and comforted when flicking through their pages. They truly are, for me, as picture books are to my 3 year-old son. I feel moved by the stories the images tell. They are my ultimate coffee table books and one of my “happy places” to visit.
 
MissMarzipan_Jamie_Oliver_FRD_cookbooks
 
The downside of having a healthy, ever-expanding collection of recipe books? Feeling guilty that a lack of time prevents me giving them the usage and attention they deserve. Mid-week particularly, when cooking/planning meals, I’ll tend to fall back on old favourites and staples… or quickly look up a recipe online, modifying it to suit my tastes/the contents of my pantry.
So, keeping it simple, FRD 2014 will see me choosing a cookbook from my shelf and trying at least 3 new recipes. And because my son adores Jamie Oliver* and loves to help me cook (even though that sometimes involves nothing more than whisking air around in an empty mixing bowl!), we will be attempting to join in with Jamie’s live cooking lesson.

To celebrate this year’s Food Revolution Day, Jamie will be leading the biggest-ever live cooking lesson and he wants you to join in, wherever you are in the world. You’ll learn to make his tasty, nutritious rainbow salad wrap, especially chosen with kids in mind, so that everyone can get involved. We’ve also created a lesson plan to give you a bit of assistance in preparing for Jamie’s demonstration.
To help us achieve our goal, we’ve teamed up the educational group, TES who’ll be streaming Jamie’s live cooking lesson to schools across the world. We want to get one million kids cooking on the big day and, with your help, we can make this happen! Wherever you are in the world, tune in live or watch his pre-recorded video on 16 May – you have no excuse to miss it!

And how cool is this? Taking part in Jamie’s live cooking lesson means becoming part of the GUINNESS WORLD RECORD™ attempt for the “most participants in a cookery lesson in 24 hours (multiple venues)”. What kid wouldn’t think that fact in itself was pretty awesome?

Last year I collected contributions on behalf of some of my foodie friends here in Stockholm, and collectively we made a donation to support The Good Foundation in Australia.

This year, via Prizeo, contributors to the cause have the opportunity to win a cooking lesson with Jamie himself and a VIP restaurant experience in London! You’d be nutty not to enter 😉

HOW AMAZING DOES THIS SOUND?

Hi guys, Jamie here!

For the second year running, we’ve got an incredible prize up for grabs: you and a friend will come to London, where I’ll give you a cooking lesson and teach you a few tips and tricks to become a kitchen ninja.

As part of the prize, we’ll fly you to London, put you up in the Ace Hotel in Shoreditch, give you £1000 spending money and I’ll make sure you get a signed copy of my latest cookbook, Save with Jamie, too.

There are also loads more bonus prizes, too…

… Big love,

Jamie O xx

ENTER THE COMPETITION BY MAKING A DONATION HERE…

 
Food Revolution Day is on May 16, people! Mark it in your calendar if you haven’t already done so 🙂
Drop me a line if you’re participating too… would love to hear what you are up to for FDR 2014!
<3 MM xx
*or, as he calls him, “Jamie Oliber”
FRD on Instagram
foodrevolutionday.com
Win a cooking lesson with Jamie Oliver + VIP restaurant experience!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I love Jamie Oliver! He filmed his Food Revolution in my state of West Virginia a few years ago. He wasn’t near where I live though. He attempted to change the food in school cafeteria’s in Huntington, WV, a city with the highest obesity rating in our nation. Of course, he was met with many complaints from the school board, cafeteria staff, kids and their parents. The cafeteria workers liked the speed and ease of processed foods and the chubby kids loved their greasy chicken nuggets, and the parents didn’t like unhappy kids! Although he made a temporary difference, I don’t think his plan of cooking non-processed foods an adding fresh fruits and veggies to the children’s lunches has totally stuck from what I’ve read. 🙁 I’ll have to check out this cool activity! Thanks for posting. 🙂

    • Oh, that school cafeteria news is incredibly sad to hear! 🙁 How disappointing. As a parent, I too want my children to be happy, both short-term and long-term, but to prioritise convenience over proper nutrition and long-term health is incredibly short-sighted… and dangerous, really. I think Jamie is a very brave man to do what he has done (and what he strives to achieve). All the very best to you 🙂 x

      • I like to think that a percentage of the children an parents benefitted from it. Some people are just unwilling to change their habits, but others are hungry for change and education. There had to be a few of those “others.” 🙂

  2. Cool initiative, dear MM, and I love your idea of how to be a part of it. I will be looking forward to reading which recipes you are going to settle for. So, Happy Mother’s Day AND Food Revolution Day! 🙂

  3. I guess I live under a rock…I haven’t yet heard of FRD, so thanks for this post! I’m going to try some new recipes to celebrate on May 16th. Thanks again for the info!

  4. Love your blog. Thanks for some thoughtful posts…lots for me to read back on when I have a quiet moment.
    I really Love the idea of the cooking day and can imagine my little grandsons getting involved. I might have to suggest it to my daughters 🙂
    Alexa in Sydney , Australia
    Blogging at http://www.Alexa-asimplelife.com

    • Hi lovely Uru! I must visit your blog again and see what you’ve been up to! Super-jealous of some of your recent adventures! You’ve had some awesome experiences!!! 🙂 x

  7. Hope you have fun with Jamie Oliber. 🙂 It’s a great idea. We are going to be without power on 16th because of maintenance in the area but with the time differences I may still get to see some of Jamie Oliver’s FRD.

    • Haha, me too! I know Mr Oliber’s cooking class will be a hit with my son! I think the video will be up on Jamie’s Foodtube (on Youtube) so you should be able to see it the next day 🙂 Hope you aren’t inconvenienced by the lack of power too much or for too long x

  8. Looks great! Like Jamie Oliver too and enjoyed his Food Revolution series here in the States. I will be looking into this. Thanks for sharing.

  9. I will be honest – I am not crazy about Jamie’s recipes. Once in a while there is a gem, but generally not my cup of tea. But I do very much admire him for putting his energy into improving the way our generation eats. Btw: I love how you always focus the spotlight on inspiring ideas!

    • I have a confession to make… despite owning a couple of his books, I have only cooked a handful of recipes from them (not that I have a strong opinion about them, just that I haven’t gotten around to it). But I do love the exuberance, energy, enthusiasm and gusto with which he approaches everything he does, from cooking to educating. And totally agree with you about giving him kudos for his efforts. Even something as seemingly simple as making cooking “cool”!. I mean when I was much younger and Jamie first hit our television screens, I didn’t have a single friend who considered him/herself a “foodie” and now it is rather unfashionable to not know your way around a kitchen/market/restaurant menu. I am sure that Jamie is partly responsible for that “cooking is cool” trend! And thank you :)! xxx

  10. How cool MM! I must admit I love Jamie…especially hus 15 minute meals programmes. Also he has been trained by an Italian and I just adore his Mediterranean take on his dishes. You can’t forget the olive oil or fresh lemon juice…yummm…
    I’ll definitely be taking part…count me in MM and JO.
    Thanks for sharing darling x

    • Thanks lots, Dimple! 🙂 I like those programs too… there’s something rather energising about watching Jamie at work. And it’s inspiring to see what can be achieved when cooking from scratch with only a short amount of time. 🙂 xx

  11. Reblogged this on Shivaay Delights and commented:
    Let’s get our kids cooking! Informative post by the wonderful Miss Marzipan…let’s support Jaimie Oliver in his extremely worthwhile cause!
    Join us on 16th May…this Friday and cook from scratch…as most of us do already and get our lovely children involved too!
    Thanks In advance…love D x

  12. Great post MM– we all need the encouragement to cook real food at home for our families. This is a wonderful idea–thanks for passing it along.

  13. I love your enthusiasm! Over the past year, I have been doing a great deal of thinking about cooking, food preparation, nutrition in the age of technology. We give ourselves permission for short cuts because of our busy lives. This is a great dialogue – one that we need to keep going. I love coming to your blog! 🙂 🙂 🙂

  15. Oh my goodness! Has it already been a year!?? Wow, time really flies! Thanks so much for the reminder! Have a wedding on Saturday that I’m helping with the food so I will pry just be spreading the word this year. But hey….isn’t EVERYDAY Food Revolution Day?! 🙂
    Jessica