Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food shock closure

The starting point for the celebrity chef’s war on waistlines, the town centre drop-in kitchen — launched after the backlash against mums posting burgers to pupils through the fence at Rawmarsh Comprehensive — has been the base for regular cooking workshops for almost five years.

Mums were pictured selling junk food to children through the fence of the school in 2006.

More than 10,000 people have visited the All Saints’ Square premises to pick up cooking tips in the past five years, while staff have also held classes around the borough.

But they were told on Wednesday to collect their belongings and leave.

And it was stressed that the doors had to shut straight away because of “severe health and safety issues” and the kitchen would be closed until further notice.

The Ministry of Food, which was set up as the focal point of Jamie’s 2008 TV series of the same name, had been funded by Rotherham Borough Council in the past before becoming a social enterprise in 2011.

The council, Rotherham College of Arts and Technology (RCAT) — whose catering students had training using the Ministry’s facilities — and now-defunct NHS Rotherham are all listed as partners on the Ministry’s website.

A council spokeswoman said: “As the welfare of the staff and the public is our main priority, the shop has been closed to enable a full survey of the premises to be carried out. This is to ensure that the building continues to be suitable and that it complies with the licensing requirements of the Jamie Oliver Foundation.”

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