Jamie Oliver was born in 1975 in Clavering in Essex, jumping straight into the kitchen of his parents’ pub. He swept through the River Cafe, was quickly spotted by TV crews and became an immediate celebrity with Naked Chef. He’s then used his celebrity status to increase the ranges of supermarkets, give disadvantaged youths a career in cooking, fights tooth and nail to improve school dinners and is passionate about everyone having at least one recipe up their sleeve. (Fun fact: I once fixed Jamie Oliver’s website over the phone.)
When Jamie started banging on about using brisket to save money, I didn't need any convincing. I've been a fan of this largely ignored beef cut for years; I've got 5 or 6 recipes around here somewhere including the mighty cholent, a very popular dinner in this house.
I bought a lovely 2.5kg piece for £19, divided it up and froze half. I roasted the other half to serve 4 people generously and still … Continue Reading ››
A couple of years back Jamie Oliver made waffles without using a waffle maker. He used, rather brilliantly I thought, a griddle pan. Genius!
Searching around for the recipe, it's fair to say there's some grumpy people out there that have tried it. Esther of the always-readable Recipe Rifle was particularly scathing about them, Kooky Girl has issues, and the ingredients list morphs from one post to another. It appears there was … Continue Reading ››
This posts commemorates two firsts. Incredibly, the first time I have ever made a crumble. I can't quite figure out why; crumble was a regular fixture following my Mum's Sunday roast, and still get treated to one every now and then. I think it was rewatching all of Friday Night Dinner, where "crimble crumble" is the weekly dessert.
Second, and even more incredibly, it marks the first time I read Jamie Oliver's The Naked Chef. … Continue Reading ››
I look forward to writing this post every year; a chance to reflect on the year's cookbook shelves. Polpo gave us a travelogue round Venice's cicchetti bars, Madhur Jaffrey returned to explore the UK's curry scene, and LEON released their fourth impressive volume.
As baking fever truly took hold, with Jubilees and the like to celebrate, the market groaned with cupcake and muffin recipe manuals designed to capture Great British Bake-Off mania. It sometimes felt as though this was the only part … Continue Reading ››
This competition is now closed. Many thanks for all your entries. So many ideas in there, both inspired and crazy! The winner has been notified by email.
You can't move far around this blog without bumping into a Jamie Oliver recipe. It's fair to say I'm fan, having decked out my kitchen with branded crockery, bakeware, utensils and knives. I even owned … Continue Reading ››
When Jamie started banging on about using brisket to save money, I didn't need any convincing. I've been a fan of this largely ignored beef cut for years; I've got 5 or 6 recipes around here somewhere including the mighty cholent, a very popular dinner in this house.
I bought a lovely 2.5kg piece for £19, divided it up and froze half. I roasted the other half to serve 4 people generously and still … Continue Reading ›› 
. … 
I look forward to writing this post every year; a chance to reflect on the year's cookbook shelves. 