(Wednesday 28 September 2011)This week Penguin Books launched the Jamie Oliver Food Guide App. The application for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch was created by Jamie Oliver and Penguin Books and aims to provide ‘food lovers with the definitive guide to finding the best places to eat, shop and visit in Great Britain.’
Jamie Oliver is already one of the world’s best known and most successful chefs. His personal wealth is estimated at £65million. In late 2010, his book Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals became Britain's fastest selling nonfiction title of all time, selling at a rate of 80,000 per week. He is reportedly the second best-selling author in the UK behind JK Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter.
Oliver said in a press release that with this latest venture he hopes to share the ‘treasure trove of wonderful restaurants, cafes, farmers markets and everything else that makes Britain’s food truly great’ that he has discovered in his travels. The creation of the app was spurred by the research and travel that went into Jamie Oliver’s latest book Jamie’s Great Britain: ‘I met some brilliant, inspiring people too and some of those are in the book and the series but there wasn't the room to include everyone so a lot of them went into the app instead.’
The selling points of the Jamie Oliver Food Guide App include:
• A GPS-driven function that provides recommendations for the best locations close by
• A tool that allows users to create their own individual record of favourite food places and share these across social networks
• An events calendar incorporating suggestions from Jamie Oliver himself
• A photo gallery by acclaimed photographer and Jamie Oliver’s long time collaborator David Loftus.
With Jamie Oliver appearing to be on the verge of yet another money winner, it is good to know that he is one of Britain’s most generous celebrities, as well as being one of the nation’s wealthiest. According to the Times Giving List, Jamie Oliver has given away £2.7million, or 4.2 per cent of his wealth, placing him in 22nd spot on the list of Britain’s biggest givers. Much of Oliver’s charitable donations go to the Jamie Oliver Foundation – formerly the Fifteen Foundation – which helps disadvantaged teenagers pursue a career in cooking.
Where to find the Jamie Oliver Food Guide App
The Jamie Oliver Food Guide App is available for £2.99 (UK) or $4.99 (USA) from the App Store on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch or Apple’s iTunes website
The six-part Chanel 4 television series Jamie’s Great Britain will debut on UK television later this year.
Cate Allan - Cate Allan is a Melbourne-based writer and editor. She has published widely on language, travel and the arts.
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