From 'Happy Days with the Naked Chef' by Jamie Oliver. Jamie looks back at his childhood food adventures – shopping at the market with his dad and inventing ice-cream treats with his sister.
When I was as little as five years old, my dad used to take me to the fruit and veg market and to the cash and carry to get the essentials. I honestly used to feel slightly more grown-up and completely honoured when Dad used to say, "Go on, son, I want you to go and pick me the best box of raspberries. Make sure you taste them, all right," which I used to do with great concentration. He used to have me groping melons, eating apples and sniffing herbs. I would scurry back to Dad with my opinion and some for him to try. Then we'd negotiate a price together and put it all in the van to go back to the pub. Even though I loved it, I think my dad used to take liberties with me being too keen, as he would say, "Listen to Dad and go and tell that man over there that his fruit and veg is too expensive and a load of old rubbish." Which I did with great conviction – resulting in me legging it from the warehouse!
1. How did Jamie's father try to get him interested in food? Find TWO pieces of evidence.
2. What does Jamie mean when he says 'my dad used to take liberties with me'?
3. What does the phrase 'with great conviction' tell us about how Jamie spoke to the market seller?
4. Which word would BEST replace 'legging it' in the passage?
Smush Ins are one of the coolest things to make. I remember when I was a kid, me and my sister would always try to defrost our hard ice-cream in our dessert bowls into almost a thick milkshakey consistency before scoffing the lot. Then as we matured we realised that many flavours could be mushed in to improve the flavour of the rubbishy ice-cream that our parents always used to give us.
So, from the word 'mush' and the phrase 'mushing it' they became 'smush ins'. It was great going round the supermarkets as a kid, secretly slipping possible smush ins into the trolley. Anything could be a contender – from maple syrup to bashed up chocolate bits, meringue, fruit – you name it, we could smush it! Winegums aren't so good though. But melted chocolate caramel bars are chooooooooice.
5. How did Jamie and his sister first discover smush ins?
6. What does 'Anything could be a contender' mean in this passage?
7. Why does Jamie call the ice-cream 'rubbishy'? What does this tell us about his style of writing?
All you need to do is get a big pot of vanilla ice-cream and a selection of possible smush ins. Take two large scoops of ice-cream per person, blob these on to a clean chopping board, sprinkle or dribble over your flavours and then, with a spatula or fork, mush them and smush them together. Scoop up and lob into a bowl or cornet.
Give these a bash and make an event of them when you've got all the kids round. They're really good fun and great to use as bribes to get the kids helping you with the proper cooking! Smush away.
8. Which word would BEST replace 'blob these' in the passage?
9. Which word would BEST replace 'lob into' in the passage?
10. How can you tell Jamie wants to encourage children and parents to cook together?