Jamie Oliver pushes back against Labour frontbencher in 'jerk rice' row
3 min read
Jamie Oliver has pushed back against a Labour frontbencher after she said his new “punchy jerk rice” product amounted to cultural appropriation.
The celebrity chef said he had only wanted to “show where my inspiration came from” when he named the microwavable packet food.
Shadow Equalities Minister Dawn Butler had said branding the brown rice and kidney bean dish with aubergine and bell peppers “jerk” was “not okay”.
Jerk is a blend of spices to season meat - but the Jamie Oliver product is meat-free and lacks some of the ingredients usually found in jerk flavouring.
Ms Butler fumed: “I'm just wondering do you know what #Jamaican #jerk actually is? It's not just a word you put before stuff to sell products.”
She added that fellow celebrity chef Levi Roots - who also weighed in on the row - should “do a master class, and blasted: “This appropriation from Jamaica needs to stop.”
But Mr Oliver said in a statement: “I've worked with flavours and spices from all over the world my whole career, learning and drawing inspiration from different countries and cultures to give a fresh twist to the food we eat every day.
“When I named the rice my intention was only to show where my inspiration came from.”
Mr Roots, who found success with his Reggae Reggae sauce product, had said: “I do think it was a mistake by his team.”
Tory deputy chair James Cleverly argued Ms Butler had shown a “deep misunderstanding” of Britain, mixing cultural appropriation with “the highest form of flattery”.
“We have always copied and absorbed elements from other cultures, it is a defining feature of British culture,” he said on Twitter. “Dawn should get off of the faux outrage bus and relax.”
But Ms Butler seized on a slip by Mr Cleverly, in which he accused her of attacking a “chicken” dish rather than a rice dish.
“I didn't attack his chicken. And the fact you don't realise that shows your lack of understanding,” she said.
Meanwhile, Tory MP Neil O'Brien quipped: “If Jamie Oliver isn't allowed to make jerk chicken because it's cultural 'appropriation' she's going to go mad when she finds out about 'Jamie's Italy'.”
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