DJ Rod Willis owes Jamie Oliver a beer, since he lost the bet.
The good news is Willis, DJ of the Dawg morning radio show in Huntington, West Virginia, wanted to lose the bet near the end. The bad news? Even though Oliver won Willis over in episode 5 of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, there’s still a long way to go to get the whole community of Huntington on the road to cooking and eating healthy food.
The bet was that Jamie Oliver couldn’t get 1,000 people to visit Jamie’s (new) Kitchen in Huntington in five days time. Oliver conceived of the idea for Jamie’s Kitchen back in the UK a few years ago, but it’s a brilliant idea of providing a place to get free cooking lessons.
I think the highlight of the show was seeing the college students at Marshall University dance to a choreographed routine (a.k.a. ‘flash mob’) while cooking stir fry in a wok in the middle of campus. What a sight! Definitely watch the above video of the ‘flash mob’ if you have time; it’s simply amazing.
Jamie worked his tail off to get the people of Huntington to come to his kitchen. The bulletin board in his kitchen began filling up with people who’d completed his cooking class. It certainly was a brilliant public relations stunt, this unbelievable bet that no one thought he could pull off.
Thankfully, Jamie pulled it out in the end by persuading Willis of the need for a Food Revolution. There’s nothing like a visit to a mortuary to see a huge casket built for a very obese person to make you think (brilliant move, Jamie!). And I give him props for inviting Willis to meet some of the area students who had a story to tell, like the girl whose adoptive father died of obesity related problems, or the extremely overweight teen girl, who cried telling the DJ that the doctor has informed her that she might only live 7 more years if she doesn’t start eating nutritiously.
The show seemed sluggish at the end, as the PR stunt ended with a long, slow bang. When you’ve got a live radio show, a lot of people waiting for their turn to learn how to cook, and (W. Va.) Governor Joe Manchin III and his wife showing up at Jamie’s Kitchen just in time for the live segment with Good Morning America, you’ve got controlled chaos. I applaud Oliver for what he’s doing. And I think the PR is a necessity. It’s just not as much fun watching that kind of thing.
But my hat is off to you, Jamie Oliver! You got 1,000 locals to go through your cooking class in ‘Jamie’s Kitchen.’ And you’ve finally gotten DJ Rod Willis on your side. Congrats!
I wonder what’s on tap next for Jamie?
Video courtesy YouTube
This looked like fun ! And a great way for Jamie to get some publicity for his shows. Hats off indeed, I love the way that Jaime reminds us that food can be fun !
Phil,
Not only did it look like a lot of fun, but it reminded me that I don’t have a wok…LOL…something I’ll hopefully be able to remedy in the near future. Woks are great to cook up food fast. Oh, yes, the whole thing was a brilliant publicity stunt. Impressive!
The show made me get out my wok and stir fry the next two nights for dinner! Go Jamie…may Real Food win! Kim
the inadvertent farmer´s last blog ..Planting Potatoes in Straw hills and Garden Contest
Pingback: Tweets that mention Jamie Oliver Earns Beer From DJ (what's on tap next?) #foodies #FoodRevolution -- Topsy.com
The video was really fun.
I appreciate you for this particular intriguing write-up! Furthermore have got a webpage and i’m questioning, where can i obtain like great theme like your own?