The Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver

For those of us who missed the media hype surrounding Jamie Oliver's television series the first time around, and have come to this book by way of the second, this is the review for you. That all sounds very circuitous but believe me, there are some of us who managed not to get caught up with the Naked Chef in the first instance. May be we were just fighting the flow and thought it was a marvellously dreamt up PR move. Well the answer is NO. Jamie Oliver has real talent and Delia should watch out. All this fame and fortune and he is only 24.

If it wasn't for Mr. Hobbley, one of Jamie's tutors at Westminster Catering College, who drummed into his students that ‘It's all about knowing your commodities!', Jamie might not have been the success that he is. And after all, Mr. Hobbley is right, even if it does sound a little Dickensian. Good cooking is down to good, fresh ingredients.

This book is wordier than his second, The Return of the Naked of Chef,but the background information on the Boy is interesting and in particular, how his career in cooking has developed. The recipes seem to take up more space too, but again there are some good ideas and nothing is too difficult.

Why do many cooks have a fear of making their own pasta and bread? This is something that Jamie was lucky enough to learn at Carluccio's. He makes it look so simple but many of us still don't have the guts to try it at home. He does, however, concede that it is an art and takes a little bit of getting used to. Persevere, my dear friend, persevere. You will then be able to enjoy his delicious recipes.

The page on cooking live lobsters is not for the faint hearted. It is surprising that animal activists haven't daubed Jamie's front door and that the RSPCA haven't paid him a visit. He suggests putting a wet towel over your supper to make it go to sleep, before plunging it, head first, into boiling water. He does add the caveat ‘Sorry if this all sounds a bit harsh', but at least he is being straight talking even if it does sound cruel. It is strange that there are no photographs of that ‘Perfectly cooked live lobster'.

Great recipes, great book, great bloke. What more can you say?

Publication Details
249 pages. Photography by David Eustace and Jean Cazals. £18.99
ISBN 0718143604.Published by Michael Joseph.
1999

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Other books by Jamie Oliver
The Return of the Naked Chef