Trussell Trust bans Jack Monroe’s cookbook for dangerous advice

Food banks have banned a celebrity chef’s cook book after they told people in poverty to use a dangerous technique involving a knife and a hammer to open cans if they can’t afford a tin opener. 

Jack Monroe was slammed by critics after she offered alternatives which food banks brand as dangerous- techniques included using a frozen glass bottles filled with water as a rolling pin.

The writer from Southend, Essex, used her Thrifty Kitchen cook book to further advise struggling people on other techniques which included using a ‘large clean square of cotton’ to drain rice and pasta. 

The activist, who claimed this book is genuinely for those living in poverty, also recommends glueing ring-pulls to handbags to secure sunglasses and stuffing cardboard rolls with the fluff from a tumble dryer to make firelighters. 

Jack Monroe was slammed by critics and her cookbook Thrify Kitchen was banned from being distributed to food banks by the Trussell Trust after she offered alternatives which food banks brand as dangerous. Techniques included using a hammer and knife to open a tin and using a frozen glass bottles filled with water as a rolling pin

This isn’t the first time the mother-of-one as been criticised online as she once claimed to earn less than workers at McDonald’s but as a celebrity speaker she is advertised to cost between £10,000 and £15,000 per event 

Jack promised for each copy sold through a network of independent bookshops one copy will be given to the UK’s largest network of food banks, the Trussell Trust.

The charity, which supports 1,200 food banks, said that it would not distribute the book until amendments had been made. 

‘We don’t have any editorial control of the content. The safety of people who use food banks is our priority and food banks aim to help people access essentials such as tin openers if needed,’ it said in a statement.

‘The publishers have assured us that they’re taking action. The books that will be donated to our food banks will contain an addendum that addresses any health and safety concerns and we will not be distributing any books via our food banks in the current form.’

The mother-of-one once claimed to earn less than workers at McDonald’s but as a celebrity speaker she is advertised to cost between £10,000 and £15,000 per event.

The Trussell Trust said: ‘We don’t have any editorial control of the content. The safety of people who use food banks is our priority and food banks aim to help people access essentials such as tin openers if needed.’ This comes after Jack who is pictured outside 10 Downing street pledged for each copy sold through a network of independent bookshops one copy will be given to the trust

Bluebird, Monroe’s publisher, said it ‘amended text in the  e-book edition and will do the same for reprints’.

This is not the first time her cookbooks were burnt online as Vegan(ish) was also slammed for some of its ‘revolting’ recipes.

Bluebird, Monroe’s publisher, said it ‘amended text in the e-book edition and will do the same for reprints’. 

It said that the frugal advice came from when Monroe ‘found herself in extreme circumstances of food poverty, and necessity required creative solutions’.

Monroe said: ‘I have a decade-long relationship with the Trussell Trust and am happy to put any measures in place necessary to ensure that my work is as helpful as possible.’

Jim McMahon, the shadow secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, defended Monroe and described the cook as a ‘tireless and effective campaigner on food poverty’.

This criticism came not long after Monroe was slammed in a blog post by an alleged NHS staff worker @AwfullyMolly. 

They accused Monroe of not being transparent about the timings of when her own financial difficulties have occurred, and having an ‘ever-changing back story’. 

For example, the blogger references a Facebook post by Monroe on December 11th 2011, that appears to invite fellow parents in her hometown over with their children for ‘coffee, cake and CBeebies’.

A column published in 2013 in the Mirror sees Monroe reflecting on her experiences on Christmas Day 2011, saying: ‘I was alone in a freezing cold flat, with no television, no presents and no food in the fridge – it had been turned off at the mains.’

 When similar accusations were tweeted by Awfully Molls and others in summer 2022, Monroe responded, calling the comments ‘deliberately inflammatory abuse’ and saying the ‘attention-seeking’ criticism was ‘relentless’ and ‘intolerable’.