While promoting his new cookbook, "Save with Jamie," Jamie Oliver reps announced the celebrity chef will be donating a copy to every library in the United Kingdom.
The charitable moves comes after Oliver ruffled a few feathers in a recent interview with the "Radio Times" to promote his upcoming autumn Channel 4 show, "Jamie's Money Saving Meals," according to The Guardian.
"You might remember that scene in [a previous series] Ministry of Food," he said, "with the mum and the kid eating chips and cheese out of Styrofoam containers, and behind them is a massive fucking TV. It just didn't weigh up."
According to The Guardian, the celebrity chef's comments were met with disapproval by the media stations and outrage by some Britons. To make up for voicing his opinion, the celebrity chef has decided to give one copy of his new book to over 4,000 libraries in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Oliver's latest cookbook was a response to fans asking for affordable recipes.
"This year, I've got the message loud and clear that as everyone comes under bigger and bigger financial pressure, they want help to cook tasty, nutritious food on a budget, so this book was born completely out of public demand," Oliver said on the book's Amazon page.
According to The Guardian, Oliver's book emphasizes cooking knowledge and skills to support healthier and cheaper choices for people trying to control their household spending.
[There is] "a tsunami of demand from users on tight budgets," Tony Durcan of the Society of Chief Librarians told The Bookseller, according to Industry Magazine said. "Jamie's gift is extremely welcome, and we will put the books to very good use."
Desmond Clarke, a campaigner against austerity cuts affecting local library services, welcomed the move.
"We should be delighted that Jamie Oliver has offered to generously donate his new book to every library," said Clarke, according to The Guardian. "Perhaps it might inspire councils to find more imaginative ways to make savings rather than axe branch libraries."