One celebrity chef who constantly seems to have a buzzing bee in his culinary bonnet is Jamie Oliver who has fronted a number of high profile media food crusades in recent times and is now embarking on another challenging project.

First, however, a new food survey whose findings suggest that T.V. cookery shows have little impact on the variety of food served in the average British home today.

It would be logical to think that the apparently insatiable appetite for T.V. cookery programmes by the UK viewing population would lead to at least some of the cookery fans switching to the more exotic fare seen on many of these food programmes. The reality, apparently, is somewhat different according to new research.

A survey of 1,400 people nationwide, conducted by the 'What's For Dinner Club' found that only six dishes accounted for the most frequent meals in 98% of British households. Although only a relatively small number of people were interviewed, it is possible to extrapolate data from the survey which appears to confirm that conservative cuisine is still king in the average British kitchen.

Almost a third of those surveyed (30%) said that they prepared roast chicken most frequently with Spaghetti Bolognese (27%) and Stir Fry (12%) the next most popular. The next three are basic staples in most UK households; Sausage and Mash (11%) followed by Curries (10%) and Pork Chops (7%). The 'What's For Dinner Club' aims to encourage families to be more adventurous in their cooking, but on this evidence the hours spent watching cookery programmes and buying huge quantities of books produced by TV celebrity chefs seems to have little effect on what people are actually cooking for themselves day in and day out.

One TV celebrity chef who seems to be a glutton for punishment when it comes to food crusades is Jamie Oliver. His most recent campaigns on better school dinners and intensively reared chickens certainly caught the public imagination, but the judges are still out on the long term effectiveness of both these initiatives.

His latest campaign is an attempt to declare war on the 'ready meal' by going back in time and digging for culinary victory with wartime menus. His new four part TV series, which will be broadcast in the autumn, has been inspired by the wartime advice given to families, by the Ministry For Food, on how to grow food for themselves and make the most of the limited rations available.

Jamie's new initiative will be launched in Rotherham where he faced huge opposition to his school meals campaign from mothers who passed junk food to their children through the school railings. If he succeeds in Rotherham, Jamie will use his methods as a blueprint to get people cooking across the whole in an attempt to wean them off ready meals.

Oliver hopes that when people see how quick, easy and cheap it can be to prepare good wholesome food that ready meals and take-aways will lose their appeal. The old TV programme 'Mission Impossible' springs to mind, but perhaps Oliver will succeed in starting to turn the tide of obesity in modern Britain where others have failed and make us a lean, fit nation once more.

As the theme of the column this week is 'old favourites', I suppose it is in order to revisit one of my own favourite stand-bys - French Onion soup, but with a Swiss and Italian dimension.

French Onion Soup

Ingredients

1 lb onions, very thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 oz butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed finely
2 pints of beef stock or French Onion stock cubes. (The only place that I have found these is in a health food shop in Inverness.)
About half a teaspoon of granulated sugar
8 fl oz dry white wine
1 tablespoon Cognac, optional
Gruyere cheese
A few slices of Ciabatta bread

Method

Use a heavy bottom pan and put on a high heat.
When the pan is hot, add the oil and butter and allow the butter to melt.
Add the sugar first of all and then add the onions and garlic.
Keep stirring constantly for about five minutes till the onions start to caramelize.
Reduce the heat to its lowest setting and simmer for 30 minutes.
After about 30 minutes the onions and garlic should be caramelised and a dark brown colour.
Add the stock and wine and make sure that all the sticky bits at the bottom the pan are scraped into the mixture.
Bring to a simmer and allow to bubble gently for an hour.
Season with salt and pepper to taste
A splash of Cognac can be added at this stage or more if it is a cold day!

It's traditional to serve croutons with toasted cheese on top, but this very fiddly so I just serve with some grated Swiss Gruyere cheese and slices of toasted Italian Ciabatta bread.