'Angry chef' Anthony Warner says ban on takeaway food shops near schools that is backed by Jamie Oliver is 'inherently racist'
- Anthony Warner,a food writer, said obese people are 'demonised' on the NHS
- The ex-professional chef made the comments at the opening of the Hay Festival
- Oliver, an ardent campaigner on childhood obesity previously backed policy
A food writer has said banning takeaway food shops near schools, a policy backed by Jamie Oliver, is 'inherently racist.'
Anthony Warner, who calls himself the Angry Chef, was responding to a question about the policy of London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who wants to prevent new takeaway shops opening within 400 metres of a school.
Jamie Oliver, who earlier this week announced the closure of his chain of Jamie's Italian restaurants, has previously backed a similar policy, saying it is 'madness' to allow junk food operators to still open up ‘within spitting distance’ of some schools.'
Anthony Warner, who calls himself the Angry Chef, was responding to a question about the policy of London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who wants to prevent new takeaway shops opening within 400 metres of a school
Mr Warner, an ex-professional chef, made the comments at the opening of the Hay Festival in Wales, as reported by The Guardian.
'I actually think it is an inherently racist policy,' said Warner. It did not cover companies including McDonald's, Burger King, Costa and Greggs, he said.
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'For me, that policy is really about clearing out slightly unsightly businesses that people don't like, like independently-owned chicken shops and takeaways.
'It was to kind of gentrify environments and I think it is a very problematic policy.'
Mr Warner argued it would be better to work with takeaway establishments, to improve how they operate.
But his advice is at odds with The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, who have previously urged the government for a ban on advertising of junk foods before the watershed on TV.
Jamie Oliver, who earlier this week announced the closure of his chain of Jamie's Italian restaurants, has previously backed a similar policy, saying it is 'madness' to allow junk food operators to still open up ‘within spitting distance’ of some schools'
The RCPCH have also asked for a crack-down on new fast food outlets opening near schools.
Oliver, 43, has been an ardent campaigner against childhood obesity and has petitioned for years for children to have access to healthy, nutriotious meals at school.
In a previous interview with the Times Educational Supplement, Mr Oliver said: ‘You can’t have one arm of the government investing money in food education and school lunches, and then have another part allowing junk food, en masse, to be licensed and given permission to trade within a stone’s throw of a school on every corner.’
How did Jamie go from Naked Chef TV star to failing restaurateur?
Pictured: Jamie Oliver on The Naked Chef during its second series in 2000
Born to pub owners Trevor and Sally Oliver in Clavering, Essex, Jamie Oliver practised cooking in the kitchen with his parents and sister.
A severe dyslexic, he left school at 16 with two GCSEs.
He went on to attend Westminster Technical College, earning a qualification in home economics, before getting a job as a pastry chef at the London restaurant of Italian cook Antonio Carluccio.
He first hit TV screens aged 23 on The Naked Chef, establishing his reputation as a cheeky, laid-back cook from Essex.
The BBC series was praised at the time for inspiring men to cook. It first aired on April 14th in 1999 and ran for three series and including Christmas specials.
Jamie met his wife, Juliette — known as Jools — at college in 1993 when the pair were just 18.
They married in Essex in June 2000, with a low-key reception in Jamie’s parents’ garden, to which the chef wore a pale blue Paul Smith suit and snakeskin brogues.
Jools worked as a waitress before becoming a TV assistant, model and, briefly, her husband’s PA.
The couple have five children - Poppy Honey Rosie, 17; Daisy Boo Pamela, 15; Petal Blossom Rainbow, 10; Buddy Bear Maurice, eight; and River Rocket Blue Dallas, two.
He went on to present more than 25 cooking series, spearheading a campaign for improved nutrition in school meals.
Oliver (pictured in 2002), first hit TV screens aged 23 on The Naked Chef, establishing his reputation as a cheeky, laid-back cook from Essex
Jamie famously waged war on Turkey Twizzlers in 2005, when he visited Westminster to speak with politicians about his healthy school dinners campaign.
The chef also released a host of accessible cookery books, including 'Jamie's 15 Minute Meals' and 'Everyday Super Food'.
He opened his first Jamie's Italian in Oxford in 2008, growing it to more than 60 restaurants worldwide.
In 2017 the restaurant chain lost almost £20million and was forced to close several of its branches.
It teetered on the edge of bankruptcy last year before the chef injected £12.7million of his savings into the business.
He cited rents, rates, the high street declining, food costs, Brexit and an increase in the minimum wage as potential factors.
That year he closed the last of his Union Jacks eateries and scrapped his magazine Jamie, which had been in print for almost 10 years. The father-of-five went on to describe that year as the worst of his life.
By 2018, Jamie's Italian was struggling with debts of £71.5million. More than 600 people lost their jobs earlier this year the chain said it would close 12 sites.
Today he announced that his restaurant group had gone into administration. Jamie's Italian, Barbecoa and Fifteen have appointed KPMG to oversee the process.
Despite his financial woes, Jamie recently splashed out £6 million on a 16th century Essex mansion, in a 70-acre estate, complete with ghost. He’s reportedly planning to convert outhouses into a mega-kitchen from which he can film shows and hold his masterclasses.
He and Jools spent £8.9 million on a Grade II-listed mansion near Hampstead Heath, north London, in 2016, and spent two years renovating it.
It boasted seven bedrooms, an open-plan kitchen with cream Aga, a grand piano and a Louis XV-style bed worth £2,200, it’s certainly impressive.
The Olivers have fitted the house with some quirky features, including a wood-fired pizza oven, a treehouse bed and a vegetable patch for the children.
Jamie hired his brother-in-law, Paul Hunt, married to his sister Anna-Marie, to run Jamie Oliver Ltd in 2014 — and last year Hunt assumed responsibility for the restaurants, too.
But some of his methods — such as making staff redundant over Christmas and cutting ties with Jamie’s friends and culinary mentors — have led to a reputation for ruthlessness.
Last year, an anonymous insider described him as an ‘arrogant, incompetent failure’ who was ‘running the business into the ground’.
Jamie rebutted the claims, saying the story was ‘nonsense’ and that Paul was ‘a loyal brother-in-law and loving father as well as a strong and capable CEO’.
Jamie (pictured in 2013) famously waged war on Turkey Twizzlers in 2005, when he visited Westminster to speak with politicians about his healthy school dinners campaign
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