Jamie Oliver responds to accusations of cultural appropriation over ‘jerk rice’ dish

Jamie Oliver has defended the name of his new product “punchy jerk rice”, claiming it shows where he drew his culinary inspiration from.

The celebrity chef issued a statement after he was accused of cultural appropriation by Dawn Butler, Labour’s shadow equalities minister.

She told him the meal, which is made of brown rice and red kidney beans with aubergine and bell peppers in a coconut “jerk-style” sauce, was “not okay”.

Oliver’s statement said: “I’ve worked with flavours and spices from all over the world my whole career, learning and drawing inspiration from different countries and cultures to give a fresh twist to the food we eat every day.

“When I named the rice my intention was only to show where my inspiration came from.”

The row centres over whether Oliver’s rice is really jerk, which is traditionally a blend of spices used to flavour meat.

It originated in Jamaica but has many different versions.

Ms Butler wrote on Twitter that she wondered if Mr Oliver “knows what Jamaican jerk actually is”.

“It’s not just a word you put before stuff to sell products,” she said.

“Your jerk rice is not ok. This appropriation from Jamaica needs to stop.”

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Ms Butler said that Levi Roots, the Jamaican chef behind Reggae Reggae sauce, should “do a masterclass”.

Weighing into the row, Mr Roots said: “I do think it was a mistake by his team.”

Tory MP Neil O’Brien hit back, saying: “If Jamie Oliver isn’t allowed to make jerk chicken because it’s cultural ‘appropriation’ she’s going to go mad when she finds out about ‘Jamie’s Italy’.”

Social media users are divided on the issue.

Comedian and author Shappi Khorsandi said food was an “emotional issue” and that the word Persian is “slapped on any old dish”.

Others complained the row was “ridiculous” and said the term “jerk” actually comes from Latin America.

It comes after Malaysia’s ex-prime minister entered a row over a chicken dish that was criticised on MasterChef for not being “crispy”.

Gregg Wallace, one of the show’s judges, said the Malaysian-born contestant’s chicken rendang curry was flawed.

Malaysia’s then prime minister Najib Razak hit back after a social media storm, tweeting a picture of the curry along with the words: “Does anyone eat chicken rendang ‘crispy’? #MalaysianFood”.

(c) Sky News 2018: Jamie Oliver responds to accusations of cultural appropriation over ‘jerk rice’ dish