By Tony Orman
Getting together with family or friends and sharing a meal is all about fun and fellowship with food. Jamie Oliver should be well known as he currently features on New Zealand television screens with a program on easy meals. Easy, practical recipes has become his hallmark. He’s never pretentious like some celebrity chefs with recipes composed of umpteen ingredients that are likely to confuse and deter amateur home cooks.
Starting early
Jamie Oliver started cooking at his parents’ pub, The Cricketers, in Clavering, Essex, at the age of eight. After leaving school he began a career as a chef that took him to the River Café, where he was famously spotted by a television production company.
His television and publishing career began in 1999 with The Naked Chef series. He writes for publications in the UK and around the world, including his own magazine and lives in London and Essex with his wife Jools and their children.
A meal a chapter
Each chapter of “Together” features a meal, from seasonal feasts to curry nights, with a simple, achievable menu that can be mostly prepared ahead. Jamie’s aim – whether following the full meal or picking individual recipes – is to keep you out of the kitchen to enjoy eating with your guests.
Inspirational but practical, “Together” is about the sharing of delicious food.
A huge range of food
A chapter on “The Wonder of Cocktails” will intrigue many readers.
Jamie Oliver is well known for his very accessible recipes, nutritious, healthy and tasty. He strives and succeeds in making cooking fun so that anyone can turn out a scrumptious meal. For this amateur cook, “Together” does it very well.
Together – Memorable Meals made Easier by Jamie Oliver is published by Michael Joseph (distributed by Penguin Random House NZ; RRP $60)