G9, you gotta be kiddin' me

I don't know if you've read the so called "Lima declaration - an open letter to the chefs of tomorrow". Well I have. It's signed by some of the most celebrated chefs of this decade. Some, I say, not all. Heston Blumenthal reportedly refused to have anything to do with this, saying "I'm just a bloody chef". Jay Rayner of The Guardian writes: "The decision by eight big name chefs (or, to be honest, three really huge names and a bunch of other guys who were thrilled to be in the same company) to convene the so-called G9 summit in Lima, Peru at the end of which they issued a communiqué bigging up their contribution to saving humanity from itself is an act of such self-importance, such ludicrous self-regard you'd need an oxygen tank to help you get your breath back."
So, what is this "open letter"? Well, to me it sounds like the chef equivalent of the Hippocratic oath. A bit pompous, that is. I wonder if these blokes (and they're all pot-bellied men - I don't know who's surprised) have been on this planet for the last couple of years, because unless I'm much mistaken Jamie Oliver has been doing a much less ceremonious version of this for quite some time. As far as declarations go this is nice: all well-meant, ideologically sound warbling. What about actually getting your hands dirty, guys? Let's take point 5 of the declaration: "Although a primary goal of our profession is to provide happiness and stir emotions, through our own work and by working with experts in the fields of health and education, we have a unique opportunity to transmit our knowledge to members of the public, helping them, for example, to acquire good cooking habits, and to learn to make healthy choices about the foods they eat."
Blimey. All I have to say is this: "transmitting" knowledge requires work other than appearing on television, in press, in the kitchen of your own restaurant or publishing a cook book. It sounds to me like you guys are preaching to the already converted. If you really want to teach the people who need this knowledge most, it means hijacking people outside McDonalds, it means going into schools and teaching home economics. However, there's nothing about this in the declaration. The needy public does not dine at El Bullí. The needy public doesn't have time to, in between jobs, kids and other day-to-day activities, to spend half a day on food aesthetics in the comfort of their own home.

I guess the lesson here is that just because you have a voice doesn't mean that you have something to say that needs to be heard. The world doesn't need another photograph of men proclaiming they're going to save the world. We've heard it all before, and from (let's face it) much prettier people. Because, in press, that's what sells magazines - and in the end, PR means cash flow and that's all that matters... right?