Jamie Oliver's Australian Restaurants To Host Free Christmas Charity Lunch
The Christmas spirit is alive and well in Jamie Oliver. In Australia, each of the celebrity chef's Jamie's Italian restaurants in Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide will host a free non-alcoholic charity lunch on Christmas Day. The program is part of Jamie's Ministry of Food, through which the famed restaurateur encourages people to cook at home for better health, with help from The Good Foundation.
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In a video recording posted on the Jamie's Italian Australia Facebook page, Oliver said, "It's going to be loads of fun, I promise you. If you know someone that's going to be lonely, or homeless, we're going to spoil them with beautiful food, comfort food and loads of love, and we're going to laugh a lot."
Not only is the generous chef providing free meals to those in need, he also asked the public to get involved by volunteering via his website. As of this posting, the 200 volunteer spots in all four cities have been filled. Clearly, Oliver isn't the only one ready to offer up a serving of charity.
This is a cheerful offering during challenging times for the "Jamie Cooks Italy" author, who used $23 million of his own savings last year to try to save some of his troubled Jamie's Italian restaurants, according to The West Australian. Last year, he had to close six of his Jamie's Italian restaurants in the United Kingdom, which the chief executive of Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group blamed on Brexit.
The former host of "The Naked Chef" has also released a new podcast entitled "Jamie's Christmas Cracker," in which he provides seasonal holiday cooking tips alongside his friend and mentor Gennaro Contaldo. "You can't get rid of stress at Christmas, but you can reduce it, and you can make the food delicious." Since holiday shopping can cause even the most composed person to crack under pressure, we can all appreciate time-saving tips. Whether you're getting together with the entire family or having a more pared-down holiday meal, you can impress your guests by cooking them an easy and delicious Christmas morning breakfast.