Jamie Oliver

“Many kids can tell you about drugs but do not know what celery or courgettes taste like.”

“I'm probably a bit romantic about it, but I think we humans miss having contact with fire. We need it.”

“I wouldn't say that processed food, ready meals and even takeaways aren't relevant to modern life, it's just that over the past 40 years there are three generations of people who have come out of school and gone through their home life without ever being shown how to cook properly.”

“Heads know that failing to invest in good, nutritious food is a false economy and parents won't tolerate reconstituted turkey being put back on the menu.”

“I've cooked just about everything really.”

“Give your kids a bloody knife and fork and let me put some fresh food in front of them they can eat.”

“In England, you're allowed to have an opinion - as long as it comes out of your mouth.”

“All I ever wanted to do was to make food accessible to everyone; to show that you can make mistakes - I do all the time - but it doesn't matter.”

“If you can eat with mates or friends or family, I mean, it's such a brilliant thing isn't it? If you feel really rubbish and you have a nice bit of food it makes you feel good, you know?”

“We opened a shop in Rotherham which does free demonstrations every day, six days a week and it's been very popular.”

“If you only design menus that are essentially junk or fast food, the whole infrastructure supports junk.”

“Just because the Americans are so good at rattling out accessible and cheap junk food, nobody looks twice when it comes to their food. But there are golden nuggets everywhere.”

“If Obama wanted to make radical changes to America's health long-term, all he has to do is treble the price of sugar and salt.”

“God, why do I give interviews to 'the Guardian'? They always try to dissect you, and I don't really think about stuff in the way that you're asking me these questions.”

“The public health of five million children should not be left to luck or chance.”

“The kitchen oven is reliable, but it's made us lazy.”

“I think there are definitely two types of student: the academic kids and the 50% who fail. It's very clear to see - it's fact. We're not doing enough for those who fail; they need a more physical, tactile approach, involving people skills, team-building, problem-solving, building things.”

“I'm better with my hands, and I always loved the slightly romantic idea of starting with bits of wood and being able to create something to sit on, to eat from, to store your clothes in.”

“My first outdoor cooking memories are full of erratic British summers, Dad swearing at a barbecue that he couldn't put together, and eventually eating charred sausages, feeling brilliant.”

“Like most of the other teachers, I'd done a bit of teaching and we all think we're great at what we do, but you realize that normally you have an audience who are all onside, who all want to listen.”