Jaime Oliver has said people need to 'get over' cultural appropriation rows in cooking and reflected on the difficulties of 'being a middle class white guy' in the food world. The celebrity chef, 49, spoke to The Louis Theroux Podcast this week and discussed the 2018 row over his release of a 'punchy jerk rice' ready meal.
![[In 2018, Jaime was accused of cultural appropriation by Labour's then shadow women and equalities minister Dawn Butler MP and other social media users for launching ready-to-eat 'punchy jerk rice]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/28/18/94600433-14334151-image-m-3_1738090731948.jpg)
The food caused a huge cultural appropriation row, with Labour's then shadow women and equalities minister Dawn Butler saying the chef 'didn't know what jerk was'. Now, Jamie said that one of his ex-students from an afro-Caribbean background summed it up: 'It's just a middle-class white guy trying to get more people to dig our food, get over it'.
![[Elsewhere, Jaime recalled receiving death threats on Twitter/X from 'chorizo-wielding Spaniards' after he added pancetta - or cured pork belly - to his version of a paella in 2016]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/28/18/94598733-14334151-image-a-4_1738090748085.jpg)
The Naked Chef added that the majority of his career - and book sales - are based on 'compromising with common sense' to get people to 'try something new', which could be giving 'more of a vibe' to 'bland boring rice'. He added that all of his new books are vetted by 'cultural appropriation specialists' which 'pains him' but he said he 'doesn't want to offend anyone over a 'bloody cookbook'.
![[The Great British Menu star and TV chef was speaking on the Where's Home Really? podcast and explained why Jamie Oliver had annoyed people with his 'punchy' microwave version of the culturally significant dish]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/17/15/76660987-12639395-image-a-1_1697551767138.jpg)
The chef also admitted he had a 'crass misunderstanding' of the dish - and said that most 'British' dishes aren't native to the UK. 'Pies are from the Greeks via the Romans and fish and chips is Jewish Portuguese,' he added. Jaime Oliver has reflected on his controversial 'jerk rice' recipe that sparked controversy in 2018 in the latest episode of Louis Theroux 's podcast.
