The Naked Chef as a Change Agent?
April 19, 2006
Last Sunday night, 60 Minutes had an excellent profile of Jamie Oliver, also known as The Naked Chef. During the intro of the show, he was asked, "If you've become a household name as a celebrity chef on TV, and you sell over 2.5 million cookbooks a year worldwide and you've just turned 30, what do you do for the main course of your life?"
It turns out that Oliver has set out to change the eating habits of children in the UK and the US, and begun a program in the UK towards this lofty goal. The Naked Chef demonstrates a true dedication to helping others reinvent themselves. Like any change agent, Olive recognizes the importance of being consistent, both on his show, and in daily life. Consistency in messaging, action, and delivery are all incredibly important. At the most basic level, a change agent is a brand, and like any other brand they must behave consistently over time in order for customers to respond. This lesson becomes especially apparent during a segment of Oliver’s show where a few trainees accompany him on a field trip to Italy. Take a read:
Every fall, Oliver takes his trainees to Tuscany for a tour of the vineyards and olive groves. They visit Chianti country, which produces some of the best wine and olive oil in Italy.
There, they learn from Giovanni Manetti, the owner of an estate, how the olive oil they use in the restaurant is made, and how to appreciate the authentic Italian food and wine that has so inspired Jamie Oliver.
But Oliver says that the trip is not just about eating and drinking. For many of the trainees, it's a turning point in their lives.
"They get a purpose of what it's all about, you know, they get a romance," Oliver says. "I think with Giovanni and this particular vineyard it's kind of, they meet him, they get to know his personality and generosity and they see how he makes his wine and then they drink his wine and they finally realize that every damn thing in his life is consistent. And, actually, if you start acting consistent in a good way from today, it's only a matter of time before you, too, can be an expert and a master."
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