Jamie Oliver, the Known Chef Visits the Greek Island of Ikaria
The English celebrity chef, restaurateur, and media personality of global reach, Jamie Oliver, decided to visit the Greek island of Ikaria. The visit was prompted by Oliver’s latest research focusing on longevity and the role of quality of food for living a long and healthy life.
The inhabitants of the island of Ikaria are known for their life quality and longevity, therefore Jamie Oliver set sail for the island, known for its natural and untouched beauty, to examine first-handedly the food habits and the traditional Ikariotika dishes.
Journalists report that the chef arrived on the island on Monday 18th of May, heading straight to Armenistis, one of the many beautiful villages of Ikaria. The chef of the Greek restaurant MaryMary told peoplegreece.com, that the British chef tasted fried mullet, spaghetti with pesto greens, ‘kopanisti’ Ikaria and wild greens sautéed.
Jamie apparently had a great time on the island, discovering the traditional cuisine, and he expressed his love for Greek food telling his fans and followers by uploading photos on Instagram with comments like: “Delicious simple food cooked by a Greek mum…all homemade; the cheese, bread, herb pie and very very tasty peas and broad beans cooked in a fabulous way slowly with fennel and extra virgin olive oil…I’m even loving the table cloth…It’s all good learning lots and being well looked after…Big love, Jamie”.
He even went on to pay a tribute to the traditional Greek salad with another post: “Beautifully simple Greek salad the classic way, with juicy tomatoes, olives and crumbly feta! Proper bold flavours and super fresh ingredients”.
Jamie Oliver, apart from being a celebrity chef, has demonstrated over the years his sensitive side by establishing the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation in 2002, with the mission to shape the health and wellbeing of current and future generations and contribute to a healthier world, by providing better access to food education for everyone.
The world renowned chef, through his Foundation, has managed to run three core food education programmes, in schools, communities and with young people across the UK.
The main projects of the Foundation are the Kitchen Garden Project - empowering primary school teachers to integrate growing and cooking into the school day; the Ministry of Food programme - inspiring people of all ages to get in the kitchen and try out cooking; and the Fifteen Apprentice Programme providing inspiration and support to disadvantaged youth to pursue a career in the food industry.