Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food hits Sydney

Posted by Nicole Eckersley on 16th March 2010

Jamie Oliver’s latest food-centric health campaign, Ministry of Food, has launched a Sydney branch in association with The Good Guys.

The campaign, first launched in 2009 in the town of Rotherham in the UK, teaches participants and first-time cooks recipes and cooking skills at a Ministry of Food centre, and then invites them to ‘pass it on’ to two other people.  The initial campaign was filmed, and became a television series.

“When you know how to cook, you’ve got control over your life and your health. Cooking is one of the most important things we can ever learn in life and with the right sort of information and teaching, absolutely anybody can cook. It’s wonderful, it’s fun, and most importantly, it changes lives,” said Oliver.

Oliver cited figures from Australia’s National Preventative Health Taskforce on an overweight and obese population: over 60% of adult Australians and 25% of children above the healthy weight range.

Whitegoods and appliance retailer The Good Guys have announced the creation of a not-for-profit organisation, The Good Foundation, which will helm Ministry of Food Australia.  Andrew Muir, chairman of The Good Guys, lent his support. “The growing list of health concerns related to poor eating habits affects all Australians for which we all need to take responsibility. We believe this initiative has the potential to improve the health and social welfare of communities right across Australia.”