The great thing about Jamie Oliver is his sheer enthusiasm for preparing food for friends. It's easy to mock his laddish catchphrases on TV, but what counts is that his love of cooking is genuine, and that's what carries us along with him.
He doesn't just give recipes, he explains what's so good about each recipe. He describes the ingredients, why they're used, how to prepare them etc, and with the excellent photographs in the book, it's always clear what the finished product is supposed to look like.
I've been following TV chefs, and buying shelfloads of cookbooks for years, but I can honestly say that J.O. is the first chef in a long while to have a dramatic effect on my own cooking habits: he always gives a feel for which ingredients have to be accurately measured, and which can be adjusted up or down (or indeed replaced by another ingredient altogether!) to suit your personal tastes. I must also thank him for re-enthusing me for the noble art of breadmaking - his love of pummelling dough was infectious!
Finally, as a vegetarian, I found the index very useful, since he'd clearly marked all the (many!) vegetarian recipes.
So: buy the book, read it, ogle the photos (the food photos! Behave at the back, there!), then get into the kitchen for some pukka cooking! And be careful with that Vodka Watermelon!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
He's back. Can anyone remember why they called Jamie Oliver the Naked Chef first time ... more
round? No matter. The Return of the Naked Chef is a quite brilliant collection of smart-casual food, simple, sexy, sophisticated, sharp as a tack and bang up to the m...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
He's back. Can anyone remember why they called Jamie Oliver the Naked Chef first time ... more
round? No matter.The Return of the Naked Chefis a quite brilliant collection of smart-casual food, simple, sexy, sophisticated, sharp as a tack and bang up to the mom...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
He's back. Can anyone remember why they called Jamie Oliver the Naked Chef first time ... more
round? No matter. The Return of the Naked Chef is a quite brilliant collection of smart-casual food, simple, sexy, sophisticated, sharp as a tack and bang up to the m...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
He's back. Can anyone remember why they called Jamie Oliver the Naked Chef first time ... more
round? No matter. The Return of the Naked Chef is a quite brilliant collection of smart-casual food, simple, sexy, sophisticated, sharp as a tack and bang up to the m...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Well designed, modern, appeals to men and women Disadvantages: I wonder if I will pick it up in five years time and think "he looks a prat on that chicken chaser of a scooter".
Advantages: Wide range of recipes from everyday to special occasions, clear layout and photos Disadvantages: Not a cook book for those who aren't fans of Jamie!
Advantages: Fantastic book for the progressive home cook, inovotive and versitile. Disadvantages: Not enough pictures, some recipies with no picure to aspire to.
Jun 17th, 2001
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