Jamie Oliver joins Tesco after 11 years with rival Sainsbury’s

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has been announced as the face of Tesco after spending 11 years in a similar role at rival Sainsbury’s.

Oliver’s role at Tesco will be to front the company’s advertising campaigns and create “healthier” recipes for its own brand lines. A statement released by Tesco said alongside Oliver it planned “to provide delicious, healthier options for the nation, making it easier to eat well without breaking the bank”.

The announcement was made alongside a survey which showed seven out of 10 families wanted supermarkets to help them lead healthier lives. During the announcement Oliver praised Tesco’s initiatives to provide free fruit for children and cut down on food waste.

Oliver said: “I’m incredibly excited to be collaborating with Britain’s biggest and most progressive supermarket. In recent years, Tesco has consistently raised the bar when it comes to so many important initiatives, reducing food waste, leading on industry reformulation, and helping kids to eat more fruit with its brilliant ‘Free Fruit for Kids’ scheme.

“This is a real opportunity to show Britain how to enjoy more of the good stuff in easy, fun and delicious ways, that’s what makes the partnership so exciting. I’m going to work really hard to respond to what customers are asking for, creating delicious, healthier meals, shortcuts and tips to get people really fired up about cooking from scratch, and responding to the seasons. Tesco’s part is to make it more convenient and affordable.”

Alessandra Bellini, chief customer officer for Tesco, added: “Jamie’s passion and skill to inspire a nation to cook coupled with our experience and reach in providing millions of customers and colleagues with healthy, quality, affordable ingredients will be a great combination to help people take simple steps to leading healthier lives.

“This is a natural step in our ongoing work to make healthier eating a little easier. Together we want to make a real difference to our customers’ and colleagues’ health.”

Over the course of 2018, Oliver has seen struggles as a restaurateur and has been called out for ‘cultural appropriation’ by MP Dawn Butler for the release of his microwavable Punchy Jerk Rice.