What's the point??? (about rivercottage/ jamie at home)

[Berti]

After the recent remarks of people that JO was NOT at his own garden at his own place in the programme Jamie at Home, nor did HFW actually LIVE at Rivercottage.......I wondered WHAT IS THE POINT of making such programmes then, fooling people into thinking that these men were actually up to something?

And how about HFW now having a Rivercottage Headquarters and giving classes. Where does he live? I thought that was "just there"....

Geez, I feel so cheated. Or am I that naive???? ;)
berti

[red]

we...ell..... maybe a little naive

you have to always realise these people are making a living.. usually out of something else. HFW writes books, and more recently took his 'river cottage' name on to his new ventures which include a shop, restaurant and courses. He also sells a TV show....As he had a wife and child at the time of making river cottage, and they were never seen, this was a clue. However, he did grow the vegs and raise the animals and did encourage people out of the supermarket and onto the allotment. He was one of the people to draw foraging to our attention.

JO also makes his money from writing books and his restaurants. He also sells a TV show - is that not his home? does it change anything he says?

John Seymour made his money from writing books, and runnnig courses, his advice is still valid

Ray mears writes books, and has a TV show, agian he brought a lot of these skills to the masses.

the truth is, you only hear about the people who are public, and this is usually because they are making money. most of us have to earn money somehow, so I'm ok about this. Seymour and HFW are up front about this in their books.

So the point is... the advice and informattion is still useful, and people still enjoy their 'products'

[Andy Hamilton]

As someone who now makes a living from the spin off book from this website I feel that I should comment on this post. I have to agree with Red on this matter. Does it really matter that they are not working from their homes? I guess it does not at all, they are offering advice and in some cases life saving advice (Jamies dinners).

Tv is always going to be a little false that is the nature of the beast. If said programs are inspirational and get people to engage with the food they are eating then job done. Its immaterial as to it being their own houses, film crews can be rather obtrusive. Given the choice would you want to subject your OH and family to having 3+ people coming into your house day in day out for the sake of making a living?

[Berti]

well, the programs ARE inspirational, no doubt.
but then, I still don't "get" why they would set up a scene for it that proves not to be true.
why not tell from the beginning that this is not their own home etc but that they are just sharing advice.

hmm......I do get that they need to make money but according to my way of seeing things, I don't understand they would have made any less money if the things had been real.

as for having a film crew in my home, oh they would be perfectly welcome.....but it would be boring, though ;)

berti

[citizentwiglet]

Sorry, I think it was me that made a confusing comment on the JO thread. As far as I know, it IS hi home....the point I was making was that he makes it look as though he is doing all the gardening, rather than Brian doing it, hence the comment about it being 'Brian's Garden' (as he does all the work in it). If you see what I mean.....blimey, I think I've confused myself now...
Apologies for the confusion!

[Andy Hamilton]

Sorry, I think it was me that made a confusing comment on the JO thread. As far as I know, it IS hi home....the point I was making was that he makes it look as though he is doing all the gardening, rather than Brian doing it, hence the comment about it being 'Brian's Garden' (as he does all the work in it). If you see what I mean.....blimey, I think I've confused myself now...
Apologies for the confusion!

Ah right I see, well not seen the show so can't make much of a comment on it, other than to see that it is a little naughty to have a gardening show when you have not gardened.

[baldowrie]

it is a little naughty to have a gardening show when you have not gardened

in his defence he doesn't profess to garden it, he admits he is a little unexperienced in growing his veg. Brian is the man that can and he is his apprentice.....not that I have seen many programmes, but that's the impression I got.

[citizentwiglet]

Yeah, but in his book he does rattle on about 'I grow this' and 'I plant out my seedlings at such a such a time' and all that...no you don't Jamie mate, you're too busy playing with your Flavour Shaker. It's Brian that keeps you in that lovely home-grown grub! You might stick the odd bulb in, and flick a couple of Cabbage Whites off your crop but where do you get the time between inventing rubbish kitchen implements and revolutionising children's diets to tend your massive garden alone, eh?

Let's petition Channel 4 to give the lovely Brian his own show.....

[mrsflibble]

I found it hillarious recently when james martin referred to his set as "my kitchen"... yet a few weeks later there was an indian lady making her stuff and referring to it as "my kitchen".........

is nigella's kitchen not hers either? delia's is actually in her house, but it's in a conservatory not her actual kitchen as her actual kitchen was too small to film in.

[citizentwiglet]

I certainly hope it's Nigella's kitchen, given the amount of food she snaffles out of the fridge in the dead of night. Imagine waking up of a morning thinking 'Ooh, lovely, some chocolate toffee cake and some Moroccan cous-cous for breakf.........oh S%iT£ that Nigella's been in again.....'

Her last show tickled me....yep, just open some packets Nigella, love! Thank the Sweet Lord for the local delicatessant, bung some teeny strips of ham on a shiny plate and viola! A new series and a book in time for Christmas....

OK, I'm being a bit unfair...but how long exactly does it take to chop parsley? It would take me 2 minutes to chop parsley. If I tried to cut it with scissors, it would take 4 hours to find them and no doubt World War 3 as to who had them last and why they can't put them back in the drawer...

[red]

some of Nigellas recipes are quit good.

but I only watched one of that latest series... grrrr! tyhe worst kind of fast cooking.

ie make a posh bread and butter pudding from left over crossiants

what? we might have some now and then as a treat.. there is NO chance we would buy so many as to have leftovers!

[circlecross]

reminds me of that Billy Connoly sketch of the recipe book written by Sutherland WI or some such "A recipe for what to do with that left-over venison" and the "Van Men" of Glesca reading it "Hey Wullie" "Whit?" "A've foond uz a receep for that left-over venison" "Thank *** for that, ah cannot get the fridge door shut for that deer's heid stickin' oot - antlers keep spillin' all the yo-gut"

[citizentwiglet]

ROFL!!!!

[Busy Bee]

LOL

I used to work at a country house hotel in Argyll...and boy were we ALL sick of venison!

As for these houses not being their own. Yes, I do feel somewhat aggreived. When I tuned into the original River Cottage I thought that was where Hugh actually lived.

[Millymollymandy]

I don't assume that Jamie Oliver grows the veg that he is cooking in his current series.

I DO assume that that is HIS home, because the series is called "Jamie at Home". If it is Jamie at someone else's home, then that is wrong! If it was called "Let's cook veg" I wouldn't care less where he filmed it!

Anyone who knows anything about growing veg will know that Jamie doesn't have a clue from some of the comments he has made about how to grow them on this series.