Jamie Oliver was a revolution when he first burst onto the UK cooking scene back in 1998 with The Naked Chef (after making a lesser known appearance in 1996 - and thanks to Sam for pointing out my mistake here, which is now corrected). Jamie’s simple cooking style has inspired many who would never before set foot in a kitchen.
It’s now approximately 8 years since Jamie’s takeover of our kitchens, and he is now more then 8 books in, and countless TV appearances. In his latest book, he revisits his roots - the style that led so many of us to love him - and focuses on easy recipes and comfort food, all with the polished finesse of a professional chef.
This is a book, like his others, heavily influenced by Italian cooking. This influence initially came in his training from Antonio Carluccio at a young age, and was simplified and honed within his 3 years work at The River Cafe restaurant in London. His experience since has allowed him to combine this with his “no frills” style to create easily accessible recipes for the whole family.
One of the recipes which most stood out to me as a food lover was his simple T-Bone Steak with Rosemary and Garlic Roast Potatoes. This is mans’ food, no question about it, and presented in an uncomplicated way. It’s this style that gained him so many followers in the first place.
In a nutshell, this is Jamie’s best book so far, and also his largest. It is his most highly polished, with excellent step by step photographs for all his recipes. His experience has allowed him to create the ultimate book of his career so far, one that is suitable for all the family while being finely tuned enough to create excellent classic dishes.
October 17th, 2006 at 4:18 am
Are you sure it is not longer ago than that he appeared on the scene?
I left the UK almost 6 years ago and I seem to remember my ex-bf doing creative ‘naked chef’ impressions in the kitchen qute a long time before I moved here.
October 17th, 2006 at 4:36 am
sam: I could be wrong. I’ll do a quick research, and change the article above if I am. Anybody else reading this - it should be right by the time you read it!
October 17th, 2006 at 5:48 am
I LOVE Jamie!!! And I perfectly agree with your interpretation of his culinary revolution in 90’s England: we were living there at the time, and we could feel the change…
And beside that, he SO fun watching!!!
October 17th, 2006 at 12:07 pm
Oh, a new book from Jamie! This I will have to buy!
October 17th, 2006 at 10:12 pm
Scott,
I do not always agree with Jamie when it comes to Italian dishes, but he is definitely the best English chef I can think of for capturing the essence of Italian cuisine. And since he started his campaign to get british children eat healthier food he has become my uncontested hero!
October 18th, 2006 at 12:03 am
Now I dont like him; I didnt like the travel through Italy series and I dont own any of his books… for me the real ‘man’s’ cook is Nigel Slater… a bit creapy in an overly measured gay-type way but I return to his Diaries time and time again.
October 23rd, 2006 at 11:09 am
i am as yet undecided on how i feel about jamie… his books seem interesting (i only have one of them) but i don’t like him on the tv… and i don’t know why…
October 23rd, 2006 at 4:58 pm
I don’t have any of Jamie’s books yet, but this one I’m certain to get. It looks like a good practical cookbook. Very cheap at Sainsbury’s too, FYI - I think I saw it for £12.99?
Second Andrew on Nigel’s Kitchen Diaries - a beautiful book with excellent English cooking.
October 24th, 2006 at 9:40 am
I’m not fussed about Jamie. He comes in for a lot of stick but he has done a lot of good. For one, his was the first cookbook I was ever bought and although I never use it now, it had an important effect on me.
However, I wasn’t impressed with this book. First, because there are better books doing the same thing, notably The Cook’s Book, where you can learn from some of the world’s best chefs.
Second, because Jamie has been a bit naughty in his product placement. Somewhere early in this book he goes into great detail about what every kitchen needs. One of the things he mentions is a ‘flavour shaker’. Which just happens to be some bizarre new age pepper grinder that is branded by him. He forgets to make any mention of his involvement in the book.
October 24th, 2006 at 11:19 pm
Piperita: He turned the heads of a lot of young guys who didn’t consider food to be “cool” before…
Dagmar: It’s probably his best one so far (in my opinion), and worth the purchase!
Simonetta: His attitude to food for kids is inspiring, and should encourage many more people to do the same.
Andrew: I’ll agree with you on Nigel Slater - he’s a great cook with a unique style.
Lil: He’s great, but his problem of late is appearing on our TVs more in adverts then on cooking programmes!
Bonnie: £12.99 is a fab price, I’d snap it up.
Silverbrow: The product placement actually annoys me too. I still stand by thinking that it is his best book so far, though.
October 30th, 2006 at 1:40 am
i liked the preview to the book on the uk amazon site, but sadly it’s not on the us site yet, probably meanin’ it’s not available to us yet. And i like books like this, they don’t only show recipes but teach you too. great
Plus i’m goin’ to try that bread recipe, but isn’t it like quickbread? Funny thing my husband was lookin’ for a recipe like that 
thanx