ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the reality television programme Jamie's Kitchen as a pedagogical site which seeks to transform young people's understandings about food, work and ultimately themselves. It provides a glimpse of this narrative with reference to Jamie Oliver: celebrity chef, global brand, author and social entrepreneur. The chapter builds a picture of Jamie Oliver as a product of time and place, a moment in history in which food is understood in particular ways. It also presents a glimpse of one young trainee from the fifteen programmes, Dovid. The chapter provides a short account of his experiences in the programme, the challenges and expectations he faced, and the ways in which he responded to incentives to relate to food and to himself in particular ways. The television series Jamie's Kitchen provides a glimpse into the ways in which popular, public and personal understandings of food are shaped and deployed as knowledge, practice and passion.
