'Food Revolution' recap: Jamie Oliver says 'it's war'

If at first you don’t succeed, and you’re Jamie Oliver, you try, try again.

In Episode 2 of the activist chef’s “Food Revolution,” Tuesday nights on ABC, he returns to the board of the Los Angeles Unified School District  to plead his case for entree into a school cafeteria and “to build any bridges.”

But there’s no welcome mat out, and without “a glimmer of hope” from the people who run the nation’s second-largest school system, Oliver says, “It’s war.”

And for him the first battle has him dressing up in a tomato costume, gathering school-lunch activists such as Lisa Fontanesi and Jennie Cook and heading to a school to talk to families outside and give away healthy bag lunches, T-shirts and fliers asking parents to contact school-board member Yolie Flores.

Oliver cleverly makes himself out to be pretty harmless -- a guy dressed up like a tomato with a little red cap? And he says all he wants is to take a look at what’s on the lunch line. A parent volunteer dressed as a strawberry and identified as Frances tells him the schools are “training” children to eat fast food.

Oliver says dressing as a tomato won't accomplish the change he seeks, but what might help, he notes, are the hundreds of emails that have gone to the board from parents.

And one high school, West Adams Preparatory School, which operates in partnership with the LAUSD, welcomes Oliver -- but he’s banned from the cafeteria. Instead, he gets a toehold in the school’s cooking classes.

And that’s the most affecting part of the episode. One student, Sophia, talks about her sister and parents who have diabetes and her feeling that getting diabetes herself is inevitable. Crying, she tells the camera, she wants Oliver’s help.

“This is why I need to be in these schools,” Oliver says.

Meanwhile, back at Patra’s Charbroiled Burgers, a fast-food eatery where Oliver is trying to reform the menu, he runs into problems with owner Deno Perris, who is trying to protect his business and worries Oliver’s menu items will cost him customers.

Finally, Oliver and Perris decide to add some of Oliver’s burgers to the menu, so Oliver comes up with a “Revolution Burger” and some other combinations using pinto beans, chipotle sauce and other add-ons. To test them, he takes a mobile cart out to the streets of Westwood and cooks for whoever shows up, asking them to pay what they think the food is worth. In that upscale neighborhood, he gets $10, $7. But later, at Patra’s, Oliver’s burgers get raves. What’s not known yet is whether they’ll get a permanent place on the menu.

RELATED:

'Food Revolution' recap, Episode 1

Is Jamie Oliver's 'Food Revolution' behind LAUSD menu changes?

Q&A with Jamie Oliver

LAUSD says no filming for Jamie Oliver

-- Mary MacVean

Photo: Jamie Oliver. Credit: Associated Press

 

Comments

[Debbie Dool]

Jammie is doiong a fabulous favor for all the children. I think the LAUSD should be ashamed of themselves. How can they NOT want to help our kids? The food they are serving now as we adults know is for sure killing them. Along comes this deeply concerned wonderful patient man and TRIES despertly to reach out and they want to push him aside.And shall I throw in here also that they have the police outside the school? Nasty! Positivley disgusting. I live in Temecula, north of San Diego. If I lived in L.A.with kids, I would leave. Jammie keep up the good FIGHT, you will win in the end.Because you are RIGHT.Thank you for your support, I love your show and your family is beautiful.A real sacrafice for all of you to have to move here for awhile.Aren't you glad your kids aren't in that District? Bless you and yours, stay strong, Debbie

[Debbie Dool]

Jammie's new healthy burger's are fantastic. I made one today for lunch. I made my yam fries, but not fried.Cut into strips like fries, place on baking sheet, little olive oil and light on the salt then bake in the oven., A healthy alternate to fries. I bet the kids would like them. I know Jammie told Sophia he would help her.God bless him, she's got it really tough, and so young.He is an angel for helping her.Jammie is a wonderful man.I wish the LASUD had only one man on the board like Jammie.If they did, these kids would be saved. Thank you, Debbie from Temecula

[Debbie Dool]

Another thought I have, I am wondering why Jammie can't get a room full of PARENTS to show up with him at a meeting? The support of the parents is much needed phyically also. That may wake these FOOLS up. Debbie from Temecula

[Piper Lake]

L.A. county schools have 60% of kids on the free meal program. I like Jamie Oliver and I think it would be great if schools would feed the kids yummy and good for you food. But, the reality is that the schools have a small budget to do this with, especially in L.A. County. At a time when teachers are being laid off and class sizes are ridiculously large, I think there are much bigger problems than what the kids are eating for their one meal of the day. They are supposed to eat at home for their other meals, right? I would like to see Jamie try to have a meeting that invites the parents of all these students to learn about nutrition and feeding their children healthfully for the majority of meals in the day. How many would actually come on their own time, especially if they weren't going to be on TV? Let's try that reality TV. If you really care about change, change the parents feeling of responsibility of their kids. Growing up, my family was on a budget and it was much cheaper and healthier for me to pack a PB&J. No one is making them buy lunch at school, much less eat fast food, fried foods, sodas, etc. after school at home, either. Why is it never the responsibility of the parents anymore to teach their kids, and have kids responsibly so that they don't put the burden on the school budget to feed them. I'm not close to rich, and I love kids, but I only have one, because I know I can't afford any more kids and be able to raise in a financially responsible way... like feeding them properly. Teach the parents some responsibility. The school is only doing what they can to feed all these kids for what little money they are budgeted with. Personally, I want to see smaller classes with qualified teachers at a school for everyone, rather than just feeding them one meal that they aren't going to follow at home. Schools, McD0nalds, Soda, Candy... they don't make people fat, it's the choices people make that make them fat and unhealthy. Be Real.

[Juanita]

Oliver should stick to restuarants and stay out of the schools.

[Bill]

Hay! Jammie go back to england if you think things are so great thier!

[Tenacious]

Re Bill: "Hay! Jammie go back to england if you think things are so great thier!"

In so many ways you have showed your ignorance in a sentence. Proving even more why we need to better educate our children, and in Bill's case adults too.
By the way Bill, "Their" (spelled their, not thier) imply's a person or group of people. "There" is a place or location.

Jamie Oliver is just stepping up where so many of us have become complacent. It is no secret to anyone in the World that the US has the most unhealthy population due to over eating, terribly over processed food and lack of exercise. Versus countries that are full of ill people due to lack of food PERIOD. The amount of wasted junk that we throw away everyday in our homes alone could feed a family else where. So why, in a country with such abundance and access to any type of food we could dream of, why do we settled for processed, imitation food made of chemicals and substitutes?

As a country with an economy heavily in debt and in need of more jobs, why would we continue to buy chemicals and substitutes from other countries to produce what we call food, instead of eat fresh from our local farmers markets; which in turn will promote agriculture, jobs, community and healthier, better, tastier eating? I am confused as to why this is so difficult for Americans to understand?

I say kiddos to Jamie for bringing to light, not just how bad the school systems are with feeding our kids. But better yet, how disillusioned we are as a culture.
We need a good kick in the rear, even if it does come to us from across the Ocean.

Thank you Jamie!