TV CHEF Jamie Oliver has become a familiar face in Southend, cooking up a storm at the end of the pier, with a host of famous faces.

Childhood friends Jamie and Jimmy Doherty filmed the fourth series of their Friday Night Feast show in Southend last year.

The main part of the show is filmed at the end of Southend pier in Jamie and Jimmy’s Cafe, but the pair didn’t confine themselves to that.

Over the years they have embedded themselves in the community, creating new initiatives to support residents.

One of the most recent, the Community Fridge scheme, is a food waste solution that has seen four fridges across the town being stocked with unsold food, readily available for those who need it.

Speaking on the show, Jamie said he and Jimmy had been waging war on food waste for the last two years and that we were still throwing away 10million tonnes of food every year - 60 percent of which was perfectly edible.

The scheme, a waste prevention idea originally from Spain, was piloted in the UK, firstly in Somerset.

It sees volunteers maintain the fridge and anyone can help themselves between certain hours of the day.

When filming began in Southend last year, the scheme was supported by Sainsbury’s, who were donating food to be placed in the fridges.

Introduced in September, wanted to discover whether the community run scheme has had a lasting impact and is helping those it was intended to.

One of the fridges is located at charity Trust Links, who work with people in Southend and the surrounding area to support those experiencing mental health problems.

Matthew King, Trust Links chief executive, said that the publicity from the show has helped the success of the scheme and they can get up to 20 people using the fridge a week.

He said: “When it was first put in we got regular donations from Sainsbury’s. Donations did drop off slightly but since the episode was shown on TV we have had more offers.

“Sainsbury’s still donates food and Seevic College cafe also donates food to us now. Olympus Key Med cafe are also looking at the possibility.

“It has been a really positive scheme and we get all sorts of food given to us, ranging from bread, fruit and vegetables from Sainsbury’s to sandwich fillers and jacket potato toppings from cafes.

“Members of the public and our charity can help themselves. It is useful because there are many people who are in food poverty and struggle to get healthy food.

“It is definitely worth it because it does benefit people, it is very valued by our charity members.

“Jamie and Jimmy have had such a positive influence.

“They really portrayed Southend and the area well and a very committed to what they believe in.

“Southend is a great place to live and visit and they have shown that.

“They were very generous with their time and positive towards the scheme and now the food is there for anyone who needs it.

“It is definitely viable in the long term if we get regular donations but it does require some coordination from us – we need to regularly check the temperature and clean the fridge.”

The other fridges are located at Trinity Family Centre, Southend YMCA and the Storehouse.

Another new fridge was added at Prince Avenue Primary School in Westcliff. The TV chef visited the school when launching one of his other initiatives in Southend.

The campaign, to combat child hunger and poor nutrition, saw the school introduce free hot meals to children whose parents are on benefits or low wages.

Headteacher, William Hill, said that they had volunteers, local churches and foodbanks helping to roll out the scheme in holidays, including half-term.

He said Jamie Oliver’s Fresh One Productions were keen to support them.

Milton Hall Primary School is also helping to feed youngsters during holidays, helping those families who can’t afford it. Over the years, the TV chefs have introduced other initiatives to combat food waste, including turning old bread into beer, debunking the sell-by myth and turning the nation onto “ugly” vegetables.