JAMIE OLIVER GOES ON AN INTERNATIONAL FOOD ADVENTURE ACROSS EUROPE AND NORTH AFRICA IN "JAMIE'S FOOD ESCAPES"

Series Makes U.S. Debut on Wednesday, February 16th at 8pm ET/5pm PT on Cooking Channel

NEW YORK - February 2, 2011 - Jamie Oliver hits the road on a culinary expedition to meet locals, sample and cook their celebrated dishes and put his own unique spin on international cuisine in Jamie's Food Escapes, which joins the Cooking Channel lineup on Wednesday, February 16th at 8pm ET/5pm PT. The one-hour, six-episode series is making its U.S. debut, and features Jamie heading off the tourist track and exploring the authentic ingredients and extraordinary characters of Venice, Athens, French Pyrenees, Andaluc�a, Stockholm and Marrakesh. From truffle hunting to spear fishing, Jamie immerses himself in the diverse food culture of each region. Episodes include:

"Venice" - Premieres Wednesday, February 16th at 8pm ET/5pm PT

Jamie finds the real regional food of Venice - rice, polenta, seafood and fresh vegetables. He meets the Risotto King of Venice, goes fishing for prawns with some Venetian fisherman, visits aristocrats in a traditional palazzo and finds an unusual vegetable garden.

"Athens" - Premieres Wednesday, February 23rd at 8pm ET/5pm PT

In Athens, Jamie goes spear fishing for the first time, works with bee keepers and makes goat cheese with a Greek Orthodox monk. He is inspired to make Greek salad, kebabs, fisherman's stew and fresh tuna with lemon sauce.

"French Pyrenees" - Premieres Wednesday, March 2nd at 8pm ET/5pm PT

Although the people of the French Pyrenees are not wealthy, they eat like kings. Jamie goes truffle and boar hunting, joins an order of local bread makers and makes sausage with an area professional.

"Andaluc�a" - Premieres Wednesday, March 9th at 8pm ET/5pm PT

Jamie travels to Andaluc�a where he trains with bullfighters in Spain's oldest bull ring, eats cakes made by nuns, participates in local church festivities and makes enough paella to feed a village.

"Stockholm" - Premieres Wednesday, March 16th at 8pm ET/5pm PT

Jamie loves Swedish cuisine, which is based around fresh produce, pickling and preserving. He picks wild mushrooms and blueberries, tries an unusual herring delicacy and checks out the lunch menu at the Royal Palace.

"Marrakesh" - Premieres Wednesday, March 23rd at 8pm ET/5pm PT

On his first trip to Marrakesh, Jamie explores the city and its extraordinary cuisine born out of French, Arab and Berber cultures. He tries Moroccan street food, joins a local family for dinner and visits a communal bread oven.

Jamie Oliver grew up in his parents' country pub, where he started cooking at the age of eight, and has since worked with some of the world's top chefs. Known to Americans as The Naked Chef, his world-famous show which launched on Food Network in 2000, Jamie has since starred in seven television series, including the Emmy Award-winning Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. Jamie's Fifteen Foundation provides training and mentoring for disadvantaged young people and now has programs and restaurants in London, Cornwall, and Amsterdam. The Jamie Oliver Food Foundation will launch in March and its mission will be to teach Americans to cook with fresh foods. Jamie lives in London with his wife, Jools, and their children, Poppy, Daisy, Petal, and Buddy.

COOKING CHANNEL (www.cookingchanneltv.com) is an entertainment brand dedicated to today's passionate food lover. For food people, by food people, Cooking Channel is the answer to a growing hunger for more content devoted to food and cooking in every dimension from global cuisines to international travel, history and unconventional how-to's. Cooking Channel is part of the media portfolio of Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI), which also includes Food Network (www.foodnetwork.com), HGTV (www.hgtv.com), DIY Network (www.diynetwork.com), Great American Country (www.gactv.com) and Travel Channel (www.travelchannel.com).