Jamie Does - Is the New Book Really Any Good?

Jamie Does, The new Book From Jamie Oliver

In the new television series from Jamie Oliver (UK only at the time of writing) "Jamie Does" several different locations. Marrakesh, Andalucia, Athens, France, Stockholm and Italy.

Jamie does do the business for me in the first two programmes. So much so that I went out and bought the book!

His enthusiasm for great food comes through in the book as much as it does in the television series. Traditional recipes are given due honour but Jamie also puts his own twist onto them. Reading the book you feel that he is learning from the culture rather than trying to force his own point of view.

Jamie does not have any qualms about giving us "full fat" recipes either. The healthy options are in there but so is everything else. I have cooked the "Best Chorizo and Tomato Salad in the World" (page 22) and it is really good but the fat from the sausage is not spared. A bit of self indulgence now and again does nobody any harm though in my opinion.

The recipes are easy to follow and with generally easy to source ingredients, though Jamie does give some suggestions for replacements for the harder to find items. There are several extra dishes that do not feature in the television series.

The photography in the book is superb in my opinion, David Loftus has done a cracking job (as in all of Jamie's other books) and the travelogue is very interesting. The local history and culture of each region, particularly relating to cuisine, gets good coverage.

I do realise that Jamie Oliver and his presentation is not to everyone's taste but I highly recommend Jamie Does as a great addition to anyone's kitchen bookshelf.

In the UK the book is retailing at ?26-00 BUT you can get copies of Jamie Does (as I did) for around ?9-00 if you know where to look.

Roger

I have written more information and hunted down some good prices for the book at Jamie Does