Like 15 years ago I was big on a meatball and sauce recipe from him. Loved it, but stopped eating it years ago and can’t find it again.
I find the way he presents himself to be fairly grating, but his recipes can be good. His corner shop curry method is now my preferred way of making curry at home.
Let’s just say that celebrity chefs in the UK, and probably all around the world, are more due to their personality and quirks than cooking prowess.
Uncle Roger making a career out of making fun of Jamie oliver videos is not a coincidence lol, same goes for Gordon ramsay to a lesser extent. Watching ramsay infamous grilled cheese video trying to gaslight the viewer into thinking its a great sandwich when its painfully obvious its shit should make everyone reconsider their other work.
Agreed. I’ve tried Ramsay and Oliver’s recipes and they always end up just a bit bland. Their technique is great and all and is a valuable learning resource for technique and some general principles, but the flavour is not all there.
Jacques Pepin however is great all around.
Solid recipes that tend toward being simple and easy to make, but still taste great. I have several of his books in my cookbook collection. With that said, I don’t reach for them nearly as much as some others. For reference cooking is a full on hobby for me. I have multiple bookshelves full of cookbooks.
His “Kinda Spaghetti Bolognese” is a family favorite and I make it several times a year.
As to what I think of Jamie himself? Honestly, I don’t know anything about him, other than he’s British. Entertainment celebrities is not a subject that holds any interest for me.
In the pantheon of cooks, whose recipes I’ve made:
He’s a LOT better than Rachael Ray (but who isn’t?).
But not quite as good as a Julia Child, Ina Garten, Charlie Trotter (RIP), or Jonathan Best.
I’ve got an uncle with pretty strong opinions on chili jam
Me too nephew, me too
I think pouring water over your fried rice should be a war crime. (I may have watched too much Uncle Roger)
Honestly, I’m assuming he makes decent British food, but takes too many liberties when making food from other regions.
I think his recipe game is weak enough that I’d just suggest improvising instead - just throw some shit together with some spices and enjoy.
I made his lamb shank recipe a couple years ago and it was incredibly flavorful. About as subtle as a brick to the head, but still insanely delicious.
I can’t speak much about the recipes because I’m not much into cooking, I’ve seen several of his books and I didn’t find them particularly anything. As for his personality, he seems like a nice guy as far as I’ve seen, with reservations since I’m not a fan or a follower.
TLDR: * Shrugs * eh
Pukka
He made a lot of cheap cuts popular, like trotters, pork shanks, oxtail, shin of beef or brisket and they are now really expensive, and I hate that he did that. But his recipes are ok, simple and mostly tasty.
His black bean soup recipe is delicious
I don’t have any because I haven’t seen any of them.
I can recommend the burger recipe that uses cream crackers! :) Nothing more insightful to contribute besides that though as I’ve not tried other recipes
(usually the BBC have a version with “less fancy ingredients”, by which I mean “doesn’t assume I have my life together and can afford to have fresh vegetables on hand in my fridge” - this is probably a me problem lol)
