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CELEBRITY chef Jamie Oliver was thrilled when his campaign for a Government-imposed sugar tax came to fruition earlier this year, but I can reveal that his success has left a bitter aftertaste with his illustrious TV rival, Marcus Wareing.
‘I’m not getting behind the Government’s sugar tax. I think it’s a great gain for the Government but no gain for anyone else,’ fumes the two Michelin-starred chef.
‘‘It’s like petrol — when the prices go up, do you stop putting petrol in your car? No! When it goes down, you put the same amount of petrol in.’
Wareing, who is a judge on the BBC’s MasterChef: The Professionals, adds: ‘So with the principle of sugar tax, eventually you’ll just forget about it and there will be another expense for the public. Where does that money go? We’re hoping it will go into the NHS, but we won’t know.’
Oliver argued for a tax on sugary drinks in front of the Health Select Committee last October, and was delighted when Chancellor George Osborne included it in his Budget in March. Of the plan, which comes into effect in 2018, Oliver said: ‘Business cannot come between our kids’ health. Our kids’ health comes first.’
But Wareing, who was speaking to me at the Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink awards, argues that responsibility should lie with the parents — not David Cameron.
‘People need to wake up. It’s not the Government’s job to teach us. We’re human beings, we can read and write, let’s not blame the Government. I’m sorry but I don’t buy into all that s***. If I see someone walking down an aisle in a supermarket and they fill their trolley full of c***, that’s not David Cameron’s problem. If that person buys and eats that, that’s their problem.
‘There are only two people to blame for the obesity crisis: mum and dad. It’s up to them to teach their children how to eat properly and take care of themselves.’