Thursday, January 17

 
'Cheeky' Naked Chef Shills for Sainsbury's

Are you a fan of Jamie Oliver, the 26-year-old Naked Chef? He does a cooking show - fully clothed - for the BBC, which is picked up in the United States on either PBS or the Food Channel, I forget which. I'm not a fan because I think he's a culinary slob, but then I feel the same way about Emeril and Nigella, so don't go by my opinion. I'm also not a thirtysomething English woman who apparently makes up a large part of Jamie's audience and also is the target shopper for Sainsbury's, one of the leading supermarket chains in the United Kingdom. Apparently, one recipe that Jamie did over the Christmas holidays was enough to cause a run on tins of goose fat in stores. Beyond that, Sainsbury's executives attribute a sales increase to his appearances in commercials and advice on product development, so they've given him four more years and 2 million pounds (I think that's about $3.5 million US) to keep it up. A Sainsbury's spokeswoman said, "People like him because he is quite cheeky. They find his passion for cooking inspiring." Well, if it gets the next generation interested in cooking, more the better.
posted by Unknown 8:49 AM