Does Jamie Oliver w...
 

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[Closed] Does Jamie Oliver write his own books?

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...or are they done by someone else and he just puts his name/brand on them?

I'm a fair cook and can follow instructions, but out of the 3 recipes tried so far 2 have been absolutely awful and the one that was OK was supposed to serve four but I had enough left over to feed another four.


 
Posted : 30/12/2015 9:37 pm
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I think they're pukka


 
Posted : 30/12/2015 9:40 pm
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He doesn't do his own tidying up- that's for sure!


 
Posted : 30/12/2015 9:42 pm
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Dunno...but I've found the opposite. It's fair to say I have lined his pockets a bit and have most of his books but I rarely find much wrong with the recipes I try... And I'm no ace in the kitchen. Just tonight I did his daal and cauliflower aloo and it's a winner imo


 
Posted : 30/12/2015 9:45 pm
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Can he write?

Nah fair play much respect to him


 
Posted : 30/12/2015 9:47 pm
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i have one that has a recipe for a fish finger sandwich in it. as in, grill some fish fingers and put between 2 slices of bread. takes up 2 pages as it has a photo.


 
Posted : 30/12/2015 9:49 pm
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I'm reasonably sure that a) he doesn't write the books and b) that the recipes are professionally tested.


 
Posted : 30/12/2015 9:50 pm
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i have one that has a recipe for a fish finger sandwich in it. as in, grill some fish fingers and put between 2 slices of bread. takes up 2 pages as it has a photo.

But it's useful in assessing the man and how much faith to put in his recipes. I'm quite interested to know what Mr Oliver thinks ought to be included in a fish finger butty.


 
Posted : 30/12/2015 9:52 pm
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In the past he would have devised the recipes.

these days, who knows, worth 200 million or so, I imagine he has a 'team' that does them for him...


 
Posted : 30/12/2015 9:53 pm
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daal and cauliflower aloo

That makes no sense


 
Posted : 30/12/2015 9:53 pm
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I think he's brilliant. But he's wrong about putting garlic in macaroni cheese.


 
Posted : 30/12/2015 9:57 pm
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I've cooked a fair few of his dishes & they can be a bit hit and miss, but I always know what needs tweaking so the second time they are much better (to me anyway)

TBH these days I use the internet to source a range of recipes for the same dish & pick one that is closest to my tastes or what I have in stock, sadly it often involves red wine :/


 
Posted : 30/12/2015 10:00 pm
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daal and cauliflower aloo
That makes no sense

It's two separate dishes.


 
Posted : 30/12/2015 10:02 pm
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I'm quite interested to know what Mr Oliver thinks ought to be included in a fish finger butty.

ketchup under the fish fingers and (he stresses this point) you have to press down on the top of the completed sandwich


 
Posted : 30/12/2015 10:05 pm
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A friend of mine used to write for Jamie. Or at least she worked in "recipe development" or something along those lines. She now writes her own books. Look her up - Anna Jones. I don't know a definite answer to your question but there is definitely a medium -sized team around him - as you'd surely expect.

I've always found Jamie's recipes to be pretty good, but I never follow stuff to the letter when I'm cooking so YMMV.


 
Posted : 30/12/2015 10:11 pm
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OP, I doubt it very much.


 
Posted : 30/12/2015 10:13 pm
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From the Cook books we publish, he will create the recipes himself. He is a bit of a tube though.


 
Posted : 30/12/2015 10:17 pm
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It's two separate [s]dishes[/s] languages.


 
Posted : 30/12/2015 10:22 pm
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Never mind him, try... http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/mar/30/cooking-with-poo-oddest-title-prize


 
Posted : 30/12/2015 10:34 pm
 DezB
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15 Minute Meals is crap. There are about 3 useable recipes in that book. SO many special ingredients that you use once and never again. Yet in his TV series he makes the recipes look easy and practical!


 
Posted : 30/12/2015 10:51 pm
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Yet in his TV series he makes the recipes look easy and practical!

You don't get to see all the rehearsals though do we?

Should imagine he does write his own books, pretty sure they're just recycled so so many times


 
Posted : 30/12/2015 10:58 pm
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A friend of mine used to write for Jamie...Look her up - Anna Jones.

I think I saw a pic of one of her books on miketually's instagram tonight. Good on her - hope she's successful..!

these days, who knows, worth 200 million or so

Indeed. He's the richest chef in the world AFAIK - he must be doing something right.


 
Posted : 30/12/2015 11:49 pm
 ART
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A friend of mine used to write for Jamie. Or at least she worked in "recipe development" or something along those lines. She now writes her own books. Look her up - Anna Jones.

I've just bought one of her books, it's totally fab. Will be cooking from it exclusively for the next few weeks 🙂


 
Posted : 31/12/2015 12:08 am
 grum
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I've always found Jamie's recipes to be pretty good, but I never follow stuff to the letter when I'm cooking so YMMV.

+1


 
Posted : 31/12/2015 12:17 am
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woodster - Member

i have one that has a recipe for a fish finger sandwich in it. as in, grill some fish fingers and put between 2 slices of bread. takes up 2 pages as it has a photo.

But it's useful in assessing the man and how much faith to put in his recipes. I'm quite interested to know what Mr Oliver thinks ought to be included in a fish finger butty.

Yes, this is right. I remember watching a James Martin thing where he was fussing over the best bacon buttie in the world. Assembling the proper bacon on home baked bread, how to cook the bacon and all that. And then he used buttery spread to butter the bread. Totally spoiled it for me - I'd never, ever use spread on a premium, 'best of' sandwich of any description. Any confidence I might have had in his cooking was lost instantly. (Before he had his anti-cyclist moment.)


 
Posted : 31/12/2015 11:55 am
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He does his own calendar.

[img] [/img]


 
Posted : 31/12/2015 11:58 am
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TBH these days I use the internet to source a range of recipes for the same dish & pick one that is closest to my tastes or what I have in stock,

I tend to do that but then create my own recipe by cribbing various ideas from them.


 
Posted : 31/12/2015 12:01 pm
 DrJ
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And do his real friends come round at the end of the programme, like on that gurning pain Nigella's programme?


 
Posted : 31/12/2015 12:03 pm
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He does his own calendar

Does he release the 2004 calendar every year, then? 🙂


 
Posted : 31/12/2015 12:04 pm
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I lost all faith in him when he was advertising for Sainsbury and he was telling people to use topside for roast beef. 🙄


 
Posted : 31/12/2015 12:21 pm
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And then he used buttery spread to butter the bread

James Martin? Are you sure? About the only thing that sticks in my mind from watching him cook on telly is that he's [u]very[/u] keen on actual butter.


 
Posted : 31/12/2015 12:44 pm
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Dunno who does the Hairy Bikers stuff, but it's usually spot on.


 
Posted : 31/12/2015 1:13 pm
 Drac
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I lost all faith in him when he was advertising for Sainsbury and he was telling people to use topside for roast beef.

Topside is great for roasting.


 
Posted : 31/12/2015 1:19 pm
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Topside is great for roasting.

No it's not. It's a pot roast joint.


 
Posted : 31/12/2015 1:21 pm
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I'm with Drac on this one.


 
Posted : 31/12/2015 1:26 pm
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Then you're both wrong.


 
Posted : 31/12/2015 1:27 pm
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It's nice that your world is so black and white 🙂


 
Posted : 31/12/2015 1:29 pm
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I used a few of his cake recipes for inspiration when I was baking for a local cycling café but they all needed tweaking to get them right.

15 Minute Meals is crap. There are about 3 useable recipes in that book. SO many special ingredients that you use once and never again. Yet in his TV series he makes the recipes look easy and practical!

All of them do that - assume you've got the full range of knives, pots, pans, baking tins, spices all right at your fingertips.


 
Posted : 31/12/2015 1:32 pm
 DezB
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[i] lost all faith in him when he was advertising for Sainsbury and he was telling people to use topside for roast beef.[/i]

I (or you) may not rate his books, but I'm damn sure he wouldn't be a famous chef without knowing what was a decent cut of meat.


 
Posted : 31/12/2015 1:40 pm
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I'm quite interested to know what Mr Oliver thinks ought to be included in a fish finger butty.
ketchup under the fish fingers and (he stresses this point) you have to press down on the top of the completed sandwich

Jamie obviously knows sweet FA about fish finger sandwiches as he doesn't use tartare sauce in his. Basic, basic error.


 
Posted : 31/12/2015 2:10 pm
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A friend of mine used to write for Jamie...Look her up - Anna Jones.

I think I saw a pic of one of her books on miketually's instagram tonight. Good on her - hope she's successful..!

You did indeed. That's her second book, everyone raves over her first book and this one looks good, as far as I can tell without having cooked any of the record yet.


 
Posted : 31/12/2015 3:53 pm

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