"I do know what my customers want. They are looking for a good price and quantity. They're not concerned with quality." -- Deno.
For those who missed last week's episode, Deno is the owner of the fast food restaurant that Jamie Oliver is trying to convince to serve better made food. The emphasis in italics is mine, but when you play back the clip, Deno realizes a second after he says it that some snarky journalist may post that quote at the top of a blog entry.
Jamie Oliver is desperate for the revolution to be inside the school cafeteria, but Oliver got two good doses of reality as to why the revolution is also around what happens inside the school cafeteria.
(Besides, Oliver did have an impact on the LA school lunch menu, even if it can long after the episodes were filmed. Coincidence? Nobody outside the power structure of the LAUSD school system believes this.)
So Jamie goes through a bunch of complaining about not getting into the LA school cafeterias, and not working well with Deno. There was very little that happened in the first 25 minutes.
But Jamie finally gets into the classroom, yet not the cafeteria. He teaches a class of 10 in a culinary arts class. The focus ends up on Sophia, whose sister and parents are diabetics. Her 13-year-old sister was diagnosed with diabetes when she was 10. Jamie offers to work with Sophia in the future. This has strong potential, and we'd wish Jamie could spend more time on people such as Sophia.
Then Jamie decided that coming up with a Revolution Burger to compete with Deno's regular burgers was the best way to go. But Oliver made sure to keep the costs at what Deno was charging for one of his more expensive burgers.
Jamie tried out his Revolution Burger on a random street corner. He cleverly asked patrons to pay what they thought it was worth. Smart way to get people to try the product and let Jamie know the value of the burger.
Jamie's Revolution Burger had more taste and only 430 calories, versus Deno's burger at 800-1500 calories: each one for $4.85. One crucial point for consumers is to make it easy to make a stronger choice. If you are in the same place, and the price is the same, you would almost have to choose the healthier option.
Deno needed to learn that at the same price, his customers do care about quality.
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Early on in the episode, Jamie dressed up as a tomato and passed out free lunches to school kids. The lunches included fruit, white milk, and a wrap featuring guacamole, smoked turkey, lettuce, and herbs. The kids got T-shirts that said "Feed Me Better" and "Let Jamie Oliver In."
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Jamie Oliver came at us in the beginning of the last break to make this much more than a hour of TV to watch on your couch:
"Please don't just watch this show. Get involved. Go to ABC.com. And remember America, you deserve better."
Oliver got volunteers to dress up as fruits and vegetables to pass out those lunches. This is not just about a chef from England; this is about average Americans doing what they can.
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