Norfolk's second-greatest cultural export set for return with 3 metre monument erected in honour of the Turkey Twizzler
- Reference: 1597678211
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/08/17/turkey_twizzler_comeback/
- Source link:
Blended bird purveyor Bernard Matthews has erected a three-metre statue of its most famous (and controversial) son, the iconic Turkey Twizzler, outside the firm's HQ at Great Witchingham Hall in Norfolk.
If you're wondering why you haven't seen the corkscrew horror – made with 34 per cent real turkey! – haunt supermarket shelves for 15 years, that'll be because the company yanked the grub following a tsunami of negative publicity spearheaded by British chef Jamie Oliver.
In the Channel 4 telly show Jamie's School Dinners , the celeb chef railed against the stuff being fed to the nation's children at lunchtime, and the maligned Twizzler – [1]bulked up by water, pork fat, rusk, coating, and a host of "E numbers" – became emblematic of the types of food Oliver wanted stripped from canteen menus.
Though Bernard Matthews enjoyed a [2]brief spate of panic-buying due to the coverage, the product was discontinued in 2005 in a bid to swerve any more criticism – which sort of worked until two of the firm's employees were [3]sentenced to community service for animal cruelty in 2006. The firm decried their behaviour and said it wasn't reflective of wider practices in the business. Then there was the 2007 [4]avian flu outbreak at one of the company's farms in Suffolk. And [5]another one in 2013 , though of the sort that cannot be transmitted to humans.
Remember bird flu? Swine flu? Foot and mouth? Happier times.
Get ready for the comeback of the century you have all been waiting for! [6]#comebackofthecentury [7]#bernardmatthews [8]pic.twitter.com/4om1YFvgYm — Bernard Matthews Foods Limited (@BernardMtthws) [9]August 14, 2020
Anyway, having made threats across social media over the weekend about the #comebackofthecentury, the bird cooker seemed to confirm the reason behind Oliver's fevered nightmares of late – the Turkey Twizzler will indeed be returning to the frozen aisle.
What's the catch? Nutritionist Dr Sarah Schenker [10]told the Eastern Daily Press : "Bernard Matthews has listened to the public and completely transformed Turkey Twizzlers into a much-improved product.
"They now have a nutritional profile they can be confident in – high in good quality protein and lower in fat, saturates, salt and sugar."
How improved is much improved? Now with 67-70 per cent real turkey! But the remaining 30-odd is still a bit of a grey area.
Barbara Crowther of the Children's Food Campaign was far less impressed, [11]telling The Guardian : "The fact it's taken Bernard Matthews 15 years to reformulate the Turkey Twizzler shows what a truly terrible product it used to be."
Looking for all the world like an [12]unfried curly fry or an [13]unbaked koeksister , the latest edifice answers the question: " [14]What had Ronaldo just eaten? " What does it look like to you? ®
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[1] https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/mar/23/broadcasting1
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/mar/23/broadcasting.schoolmeals
[3] https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/bernard-matthews-pair-should-have-been-jailed-1-691692
[4] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6334239.stm
[5] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-22182407
[6] https://twitter.com/hashtag/comebackofthecentury?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[7] https://twitter.com/hashtag/bernardmatthews?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[8] https://t.co/4om1YFvgYm
[9] https://twitter.com/BernardMtthws/status/1294272243539664898?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[10] https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/turkey-twizzler-statue-erected-norfolk-bernard-matthews-1-6794974e
[11] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/aug/17/jamie-oliver-worst-nightmare-the-return-of-the-turkey-twizzler-bernard-matthews
[12] https://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/why-heck-do-all-curly-fries-taste-exactly-same
[13] https://www.sydneycafes.com.au/koeksisters-recipe-south-african-food/
[14] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43598431
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: I'll probably get roasted for this but...
I never found Mr Oliver as convincing in his earnestness as Fearnly-Whittingthingy.
Re: I'll probably get roasted for this but...
That'd be Jamie Oliver, noted hypocrite, whose Jamie Oliver Deli by Shell range of snacks includes a Croissant with 38g of fat ( a Macdonalds hamburger contains 8.5g) or a slice of carrot cake with 21g of sugar (a Macdonalds apple pie has 9.5g). He even does a BLT with more calories than a Big Mac ffs.
Re: I'll probably get roasted for this but...
No, Oliver is a huge prick of the highest order.
My dog refused to eat it.
Went to a friends for supper and brought the dog for their kids to play with. I'd forgotten that his wife had gone vegetarian and expected everyone else to eat likewise. Her one nod to us meat eaters was to serve those god-awful turkey things. I thought it tasted vile so slipped it under the table to the dog. He greedily snorted it off my palm, chewed a few times, then promptly barfed it up all over the floor. SWMBO was Not Amused at the pooches critique of her culinary offerings. I spent the night in the proverbial dog house for my actions.
It says something when even the *DOG* pukes from the "food".
Not real turkey...
but an amazing facsimile!!
(You'll need a few beers to wash it down.)
I don't think that Jamie Oliver quite understands that in what we laughing call real life, things aren't so simple
This was just a wonderful example of someone starting to belive their own ego, he honestly thought he had the right to tell people, many of whom didnt have a great deal of money how to feed their kids.
I have to admit I had a small smile when his restaurants failed after he decided it was ok to charge what he did for a lacklustre portion of pasta!
"thought he had the right to tell people, many of whom didnt have a great deal of money how to feed their kids." ICBVW but as I remember it, it was the schools not the parents he was aiming at.
iirc he spent a lot of time lambasting parents who provided lunches which he considered "unsuitable"
Snood snarkey
They waited until Jamie Oliver got fat, then resurrected Bernard Matthews using genetically engineered turkey DNA to reap revenge.
I'll probably get roasted for this but...
Given J Oliver esq's recipe for carpaccio starts off with "fry the meat", when carpaccio is supposed to be eaten raw, I find the the "blend it to soup" method of protein sustenance to be a more environmentally friendly approach to animal slaughter and usage than poncing about with "cuts". When you're on social, you get it down your throat and worry about tomorrow tomorrow.