jamie oliver tour australia

Food & Drink

Arts & entertainment, design & style, travel & leisure, search concrete playground, jamie oliver is hitting sydney opera house for an australian-exclusive chat about his career and cooking.

It's been eight years since the British chef's last soldout discussion at the iconic venue — and he's back with a new book to talk about.

For almost a quarter-century, Jamie Oliver has been sharing his culinary tips with audiences worldwide. This November, he'll dish up a chat about all that time spent in and around kitchens — on-screen, by releasing recipe books and thanks to his stint in the restaurant business — at Sydney Opera House. The Naked Chef , Oliver's Twist , Jamie's Kitchen and Jamie's Comfort Food star is heading back Down Under for an Aussie-exclusive discussion, returning to the Harbour City after selling out a talk at the same venue in 2015 .

Back then, Oliver brought his Food Revolution with him, and cooked up a storm live while making his Opera House debut. This time, he's in conversation with Melissa Leong about the 24 years since The Naked Chef first hit television — and all the pukka cuisine he's whipped up since.

"Every time I visit Australia it feels like a big old hug — it's a real home away from home for me and I'm so excited to be back this year for this event." said Oliver, announcing the chat.

"I can't wait to sit down with you all for good chats about good food and good times, have a laugh, and take some questions from the audience. And, it is such a privilege to be at the Sydney Opera House, what a setting. I hope to see you there."

While there's clearly no shortage of topics for Oliver to touch on when Saturday, November 11 hits, when he takes to the stage in the famed venue's Concert Hall — the British chef has those two-plus decades of TV shows, those 70-plus eateries in 22 countries, and oh-so-many recipes to mention, for starters — this once-off event is timed around two specific things. Firstly, he's launching a campaign about creating "a happier, healthier world through the joy of food". And secondly, he's just released his new cookbook 5 Ingredients: Mediterranean .

Attendees at this Sydney-only talk will also learn what keeps Oliver inspired and motivated, why he loves cooking so much and about his passion for getting in the kitchen.

He's the latest big-name chef discussing his career onstage in Australia this year, following on from Israeli chef Yotam Ottolenghi , Oliver's fellow Brits Marco Pierre White and Nigella Lawson , and viral recipe queen Alison Roman .

Jamie Oliver in conversation with Melissa Leong will take place in Sydney Opera House's Concert Hall on Saturday, November 11, 2023 — with ticket pre-sales fro 9am on Wednesday, August 23, and general sales from 9am on Thursday, August 24.

Images: Jamie Oliver Enterprises / Paul Stuart.

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Jamie Oliver on his upcoming visit to Sydney, what he plans to do while he’s here and his absolute favourite places to eat around town

And what he would be doing if he wasn't a superstar chef

The word ‘legend’ gets thrown around a lot these days, but when it comes to describing none other than Mr Jamie Oliver , we reckon it fits like a glove. The celebrity chef, cookbook author, dad of five and lover of lemon has been a fixture in our lives – and hearts – for more than 24 years, ever since he first debuted on the hit TV show The Naked Chef . From the get go, Oliver won the world over with his genuine warmth, passion for food and tongue-in-cheek attitude. He was a guy you wanted to be mates with, someone you felt you could trust – and importantly, he taught people around the world that cooking can be a joy (and that it can happen in minutes – just how much time depends on which of his books you’re looking at).

Oliver has written more than 26 award-winning cookbooks, starred in countless TV shows, seen more than 70 restaurants across 22 countries come to life, and had a family with wife Jools. He's also done incredible work around championing healthy eating in schools. His mission of creating a happier, healthier world through the joy of food has been a constant throughout his whole career and he has positively impacted the lives of millions. Impressive stuff.

And the best bit? By all accounts fame hasn’t changed him, and Jamie Oliver still seems like the legend we first saw on our screens back in 1999 (well, perhaps not all of us – I was five at the time).

Excitingly, Oliver is coming to the Sydney Opera House for an Australian-exclusive one-off show this November. It’ll be his first time back under the sails since 2015 – and we can’t wait to have the loveable British chef Down Under (t here are also rumours swirling about Oliver being the new judge for the next season of MasterChef Australia).

We caught up with Oliver ahead of his Sydney trip to talk about what he’s planning on doing while he’s here, where he likes to eat around town, and what his dream day in Sydney looks like. Enjoy.

You’ll be in Sydney soon – what are you most looking forward to about your visit?

Visiting Australia feels like a big old hug to me. It’s a home away from home, and I’m really excited to be back and to be sitting down with the incredible Melissa Leong at the Sydney Opera House. It’s such a privilege to be there, what a setting. I’m also really looking forward to sampling as much of the great food Sydney has to offer, too!

Visiting Australia feels like a big old hug to me. It’s a home away from home, and I’m really excited to be back

What can we expect to hear you talk about at your Sydney Opera House show with Melissa Leong?

I’m hoping there will be a lot of good chat about good food and good times, and there’ll be an opportunity for the audience to chip in with some questions, too.

Your latest cookbook 5 Ingredients Mediterranean combines two of your greatest passions: food, and helping people around the world cook tasty and healthy meals in minutes. What excites you about this book?

5 Ingredients Mediterranean is a real celebration of one of the most loved and respected diets in the world – think big-hitting hero flavours, stripped-back methods and clever hacks, all translated through the 5-ingredient lens for easy, everyday cooking. So, if you want to get simple, incredible food on the table without copious amounts of ingredients, long shopping lists or a whole load of washing-up, this is the book for you. I’m really proud of this one – it’s everything people loved about the first 5 Ingredients and more.

It’s been 24 years since The Naked Chef . If you weren’t a chef, what do you think you would be doing?

I’ve always loved woodwork, so I thought at one point I might become a carpenter. I still enjoy whittling wooden sticks, just like my mentor Gennaro.

You’re adored worldwide – is there anything about you that people would be surprised to find out?

I actually left school at 16 with two GCSEs. And so I don’t think people expected me to write cookbooks and I’ve now written a children’s book as well, which I’m so, so proud of! Being dyslexic, I didn’t write Billy and The Giant Adventure in the most conventional way, but it was my way, and I hope it inspires those children who struggle at school to find their own ways of achieving their dreams.

If time/money/space didn't exist, what would your dream day in Sydney look like?

I would love it if Jools was out in Oz with me and we would start the day with a really fantastic Aussie brunch. I went to a lovely spot about half an hour's walk from Bondi Beach once and the scenery was just perfect.

I’ve been lucky enough to work in Sydney on a number of occasions across the past 25 years, and back in the day, me and Ben O’Donoghue used to zip about the city on scooters, checking out all the different neighbourhoods – it’s great fun and allows you to cover so much ground and discover cute little shops , bars and cafés that you can drop into.

Once I was lucky enough to have a barbecue on a boat and we went all the way around the Sydney Opera House and beyond, which was very special indeed. It really gave a sense of the geography of the place, and I’d love to recreate that with Jools.

I’d like to do a bit of shopping, buy some new trainers, then head for a nice cocktail or two and a great dinner . There are so many options to choose from on that front! I’m often busy really late when I visit, and I love that there are still fun places to go – I used to love Golden Century in Chinatown for a 2am dinner, that was one of my favourites. So, as you can see, my perfect Sydney day involves a fair amount of food and liquid refreshment.

Lastly – and perhaps most importantly – where are your favourite places to eat in Sydney?

I love Morgan McGlone’s restaurant Bar Copains , and Saint Peter , Josh Niland’s place.

Thanks for chatting with us, Jamie. We'll see you in November in the House . 

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Jamie Oliver at Sydney Opera House

by Emi Berry | Aug 23, 2023 | What's On

Renowned chef and television personality, Jamie Oliver returns to the Sydney Opera House on Saturday 11 November 2023 for a one-on-one conversation with Melissa Leong about his career, and what keeps him motivated and inspired. 

Jamie is here to launch a campaign aimed at fostering a happier and healthier world through the joy of food and is set to captivate the audience with a candid exploration of his formative years. The audience will be taken on a journey of his illustrious 24-year television career, which took flight with his introduction as The Naked Chef. He’ll provide insight into the highs and lows during his career as a restauranteur and fervent advocate for food education.

“Every time I visit Australia it feels like a big old hug – it’s a real home away from home for me and I’m so excited to be back this year for this event. I can’t wait to sit down with you all for good chats about good food and good times, have a laugh, and take some questions from the audience. And, it is such a privilege to be at the Sydney Opera House, what a setting. I hope to see you there,” says Jamie.

For over two decades, Jamie has been a beloved presence in our kitchens and TV screens. His ability and determination to create uncomplicated, seasonal, and nourishing meals within everyone’s reach have helped establish Jamie as a global phenomenon in the food space.

He’s inspired families across generations to adopt fast and wholesome meals – sometimes prepared in less than 15 minutes or using just 5 ingredients. Through his signature enthusiasm and passion for food education, Oliver continues to inspire the next generation to embrace nourishing, accessible cooking – one meal at a time.

Jamies’s latest cookbook, 5 Ingredients: Mediterranean , was released this week.

• When: 1:30pm AEDT, Saturday 11 November Where: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House Prices: From $49.00 + $8.95 booking fee
• What’s On Pre Sale: 12pm, Wednesday 23 August 2023
• General Public sale: 9am, Thursday 24 August 2023

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Jamie Oliver returns to Sydney

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Celebrity chef and TV culinary icon Jamie Oliver is gearing up to return to Sydney for an evening at the Opera House on 11 November.

Oliver will sit down for an in-depth conversation with MasterChef Australia ‘s Melissa Leong and cover his 24-year career including all the ups and downs in between.

“Every time I visit Australia it feels like a big old hug – it’s a real home away from home for me and I’m so excited to be back this year for this event,” he says.

“I can’t wait to sit down with you all for good chats about good food and good times, have a laugh, and take some questions from the audience. And, it is such a privilege to be at the Sydney Opera House, what a setting. I hope to see you there.”

Oliver’s restaurant portfolio currently spans 70 locations across 22 countries, with the chef having a near-constant presence on the small screen.

He has sold a whopping 50 million books worldwide and has developed everything from curry pastes to cooking equipment.

“Over his career, Oliver has had a huge impact on how Australians view food. This event will be a joyful reflection of his ongoing appeal,” says Chip Rolley, Sydney Opera House head of talks & ideas.

Tickets are now on sale for the one-off event, which will commence at 1:30pm on Saturday 11 November.

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About Jamie Oliver

Jamie Trevor Oliver MBE OSI is a British restaurateur and cookbook author. He is known for his casual approach to cuisine, which has led him to front numerous television shows and open many restaurants. Oliver reached the public eye when his series The Naked Chef premiered in 1999.

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"I know I’m getting romantic, but I don’t give a f---": Jamie Oliver opens up

As told to Sofia Levin Images supplied

Jamie Oliver has returned to MasterChef Australia as a mentor for two weeks, but when he’s not in the country, the celebrity chef and restaurateur admits there’s nowhere he would rather be.

I feel more at home in Australia than I do back in the UK. The way I like to live and operate feels slightly more Australian than British, dare I say it... Australia just resonates with me on a very deep level. Maybe I should’ve been born Australian, I don’t know, but honestly, when I come to Australia, I don’t feel like a tourist – I feel like I’m home. I don’t know if it’s the way I look at life; the way I take food seriously, but kind of not-too-seriously; the way I don’t mind having a laugh and being the butt of a joke, but also being part of a joke. I just love the Australian spirit; it fills me with goodness and feels like a vitamin B12 shot in the arse.

Melbourne’s got it right.  Melbourne feels like a city of alleyways, and in those alleyways are lots of expressions of culture, community and, of course, food. It just feels really vibrant, like every street really does represent so many different aspects of the cultures that live here and the waves of immigration that make Melbourne so diverse and so interesting. You could eat out every night and never go back to the same place, so it feels alive. 

Gordon Bennett! I had a lot of really good meals (in Melbourne). I mean, look, having Ethiopian (at Cafe Lalibela in Footscray) with you was very memorable, partly because watching Jean-Christophe (Novelli) wondering how he was going to eat without a knife and fork was brilliant. But I think the restaurant (Jeow, Richmond) that I went to with Andy and his wife Alex felt really unusual. There was a smorgasbord tray of all kinds of salads and rice and fish and meat, and it was very different to what I’d seen in that collection before. Every single menu item was really unique and really defined and really beautiful. 

To me, food is adventure and community and safety. These are all my kinds of memories as a kid growing up in a pub… That sense of community, that sense of serving people, I love the idea: to serve people. Some people look down on it; I look up at it. I think it’s such a treat to serve people and make their day a little bit better and create a safe space where people can come and be themselves.

Too many people try to make food out to be a craft and a trade, but I think on a very human level, to make something – to cook it, to serve it, to feed other people, to be generous – is a beautiful, beautiful thing. All of the most profound moments of my life have happened around food or the dinner table. People that make amazing food or products are always good people, so I find that very humbling and I think it’s an incredible thing that always brings people together. 

"When you love food, food is a language for you."

I’ve travelled around the world speaking hardly any languages, and just from a smile and general politeness and grunting and groaning at the right times, people know you love food. They put stuff in your hand, they put stuff in your mouth, and I think there’s like something innately beautiful about feeding and nourishing, and I think it’s within all of us. 

I loved this year. I loved my dinners with you guys and I loved the show and I believe in it. (MasterChef Australia) wants to find the best in people. It is this beautiful family show that gives Australia hope in the simple things in life: the dinner table and the stomach and farmers and suppliers and taking a moment to cook something as simple a sandwich or a curry, or a beautiful feast – this act of cooking and savouring and being grateful and sharing it with people. I know I’m getting romantic, but I don’t give a f---. It’s just a beautiful thing, and anything that can do that to Australia is a beautiful thing. Anything that can do that to anyone is a beautiful thing. MasterChef does that, so I love it. I’m all in.

It’s a beautiful opportunity to tell your story if you say yes to something. If you make yourself vulnerable, if you just have a go and make yourself a little uncomfortable, maybe you’ll discover something about yourself that’s truly wonderful and amazing. MasterChef Australia is special because it’s not just a TV gameshow, it genuinely is a chance for seeing transformation in the contestants. I’m very lucky to work in the industry that I do, but to have two weeks where I can just focus not on me and not on my world, but just on other people and mentoring them is wonderful.

With the new judges, as a foursome, it’s a beautiful thing to behold.  My job, really, was to kick off the series and add a little new season extra-virgin olive oil to the new cogs. You’re bringing something completely different to the story. Your experiences, your energy, your enthusiasm; it’s really precious mentoring and it gives the judging panel real depth and fairness. Jean-Christophe is an incredible legend; a beautiful, romantic man. He’s hilarious and he’s gone through London at one of the most exciting times in the ‘90s with two Michelin stars. 

Poh is just a little gift of sunshine and, like Andy, her experiences as a contestant and her creative lifestyle, her eye for detail and artistic appeal and soulfulness, again add a wonderful edge to the judging team. And then you’ve got Andy, of course, who has just thrived and been rocketed from an electrician to legitimately robust chef-entrepreneur-restauranteur to beer maker. 

In my busy lifestyle, and as a somewhat recognisable member of the celebrity fraternity – I’m not getting the violin out – but you know I don’t get an opportunity to make new friends that often, so I treasure that two weeks more than you’ll ever know.

Watch Jamie Oliver in the first 8 episodes of MasterChef Australia, season 16, on 10Play .

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Jamie Oliver is Coming to Relaunch Jamie’s Italian Australia

Jamie's Italian, Adelaide

Jamie’s Italian is officially under new ownership; the Jamie Oliver Group has just finalised the buy back of the famous chef’s six namesake Australian restaurants .

The venues in Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and Sydney (two) were sold by Keystone Group, a hospitality investor that went into receivership last year .

Jamie’s Italian has struggled in Australia. Perhaps it is a disconnection between the restaurants’ passionate namesake and their franchisees that made the quality of the food and service inconsistent. The online reviews are mixed and many settle in the “it was average” camp.

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New Australian managing director Ben Shaughnessy (a UK Jamie Oliver Group alumnus) has moved permanently to Sydney to usher the chain through this transition. He’s confident about the future.

“We certainly don’t believe we have bought back a damaged product,” says Shaughnessy. “In fact, our Australian restaurants are some of our most successful globally.”

He admits Keystone’s receivership was difficult for the brand’s image. Oliver will visit Sydney in May (his only Australian stop) to launch a new menu and officially reopen the chain, something he didn’t do when the first Jamie’s Italian opened in Sydney in 2011.

Between Oliver’s visit and Shaughnessy’s appointment to managing director, it seems there’s a focus on success down under.

“It’s not about reinventing,” says Shaughnessy, “but rather reenergising what we have. It is key that our mentality changes. We are no longer a franchise.”

“I believe in Australia and I’m invested in it in so many ways. I can’t wait to get over there,” Oliver said in a press release.

Sourcing ingredients locally is an important part of Oliver’s ethos. The six restaurants will collaborate with local producers such as Serendipity Ice Cream, Boulangerie 113 and That’s Amore Cheese. The new menu will feature dishes such as wild mushroom ravioli; slow-cooked oxtail lasagne; and porchetta stuffed with garlic, chilli and herbs. For dessert there’s a very Jamie Oliver-esque “wobbly” panna cotta.

The wine list will include new and established Australian producers alongside Italian varieties.

Only time will tell how this buy back will turn out. The proof will be in the wobbly panna cotta.

jamieoliver.com

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Aussie treat Jamie Oliver has never tried

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has travelled to Australia many, many times but there’s one famous Aussie treat he’s never tried – until now.

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Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has been visiting Australia on and off for the past 20 years — and in that time he has never tried a Tim Tam.

The much-loved British chef touched down in Sydney last week ahead of his 10-year anniversary with Royal Caribbean cruises.

During an interview with The Today Show on-board the Ovation of the Seas on Friday, Jamie was asked to pick his favourite between Vegemite toast or a Tim Tam and that’s when it was revealed he had no idea about the beloved Aussie biscuit.

“What’s that in English? What did you just say? he asked the presenter with a confused look on his face.

“Ah, Vegemite toast. What’s a Tim Tam? What is it, it sounds like some terrible rash,” he joked.

She told him it was a chocolate biscuit and of course had to get him one to try it after finding a tray on-board the ship.

“This is the moment of truth – this thing I have never had before,” he said as he grabbed a Tim Tam from the tray.

“Very, very nice … I will never forget this moment.”

Jamie arrived in Sydney last week to celebrate Jamie’s Italian being on-board eight of Royal Caribbean’s ships for almost a decade — since 2014.

“I grew up in a pub and I lived above the pub restaurant. Mum and Dad worked very, very hard and every now and again we used to go on a cruise — it was one of the things that we did as a family until I was about of 13/14,” Jamie told news.com.au during an exclusive interview on Friday.

“And we used to love it. I think that was the only way that Dad could switch off.

“But now I’ve got eight restaurants in eight ships, and I never, ever dreamt when I was forging my career that, that would ever happen, but it’s nearly a ten year relationship.”

The 48-year-old chef first came to Australia when he was just 24 years old “and I pretty much did every year for next 20 years”.

“I normally came, in the old world, every year, but obviously Covid threw a little curve ball in there,” he said.

“I just love it here. It always feels like weirdly, my true home. I feel like my style of cooking, my personality, my ridiculous jokes seem to go down better here than back home.”

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The award-winning cook, who first shot to fame almost 25 years ago with his cooking program, The Naked Chef in 1999, has just released another cookbook called 5 Ingredients Mediterranean which he says feeds back into his restaurant on-board the ships.

“My books, the TV I do and the travels I do directly feds back into this restaurant here,” he said. “We’ve got stuff from 5 Ingredients Mediterranean on the menu and you just see those dishes that we’re making famous around the world through TV on the menu here.

“I’m getting a bit older now, but hopefully a little bit wiser. And I try and travel a lot, learn a lot and share a lot about food and culture.”

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Meet the latest special guests on MasterChef Australia: Jamie Oliver’s parents

Joining the  MasterChef  family  for a two-week stint, Jamie Oliver was delighted to introduce the cast and crew to some very special guests – his parents Sally and Trevor!

Joining the series via video link, the cameo comes as no surprise. Jamie, 48, is very open about his close-knit relationship with his parents.

It was in the kitchen of the family’s pub that the veteran chef first began in the food industry, and he’s never looked back.

“I grew up a real country boy in Clavering. In the county of Essex, about 18 miles [29km] from Cambridge,” he shared with Flow magazine.

“By age five, I was already helping out in my parents’ pub The Cricketers. I was washing glasses and chopping veg for one pound an hour. I was really good with the knife even back then. To be honest, I cooked up some really good grub, even as a kid.”

Contstant support

His parents were behind him every step of the way since his TV debut on  The Naked Chef . Jamie credits them with teaching him the value of hard work.

“My parents also taught me something else really important. A great work ethic and how to treat others with respect and friendliness. Ans also how to stay polite even when you’re stressed and your feet are killing you,” Jamie says. All traits he hopes to pass onto his own kids, Poppy, 22, Daisy, 21, Petal, 15, Buddy, 13, and seven-year-old River.

“I sometimes wish my kids could help their grandparents out now and again, and learn all that. Back then, I understood, if you want to get anywhere, you have to roll up your sleeves and get on with it.”

The post Meet the latest special guests on MasterChef Australia: Jamie Oliver’s parents appeared first on Now to Love - New Zealand .

Jamie Oliver’s ‘5 Ingredients Mediterranean’ is an insipirational food tour

With his 27th cookbook out just this past January, Jamie Oliver takes us on not just a cook’s tour of the 22 countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, he takes us on the celebrity chef’s tour of cuisines and cultures that promises to rock us out of dinnertime ruts with casual, easy takes on delicious food.

You don’t write 27 successful cookbooks without having a keen sense for what’s needed now. This one came as the answer to clamoring moms in school pick-up lines with Jools, his wife, for another “5 Ingredients” concept.

With over 125 recipes shown in full color, full bleed photos on each facing page, it’s a riot of inspiration, his perennially delicious dishes promising as little fuss as can be managed by busy people. He does this with pared down lists of ingredients, casual, uncomplicated cooking and no more washing up than necessary. 

A sizeable number of recipes are meat-free or meat-reduced. 

Jamie Oliver’s commitment is consistently geared towards people wanting to avoid the highly processed convenience of so much of what’s commercially available that’s doing so much damage to our collective health. He’s probably equally well known for his commitment to people, to teaching, and training up his restaurant staff for leadership roles. And he’s also still appreciated for the hot boy summer of his youth as The Naked Chef. 

Courtesy Jamie Oliver

Jamie Oliver

A scroll through Goodreads gives a good sense of what he’s covered in 27 cookbooks, but consider that Jamie Oliver has sold 50 million cookbooks worldwide. For a sense of that scale, Rutland Free Library’s entire collection, housed in an imposing building with an extensive addition, houses a mere 75,000 to 80,000 titles. That’s a difference of 667 times — and all done at just 48 years old. Prolific doesn’t even describe that. 

It should be noted that this isn’t his “5 Ingredients Quick and Easy Food” nor is it “30 Minute Meals.” Those have already hit the shelves and they may be what’s needed now in your household. So be it! 

In this one you’ll find inspiration for all kinds of recipes with seasonal ingredients from salads, soups and sandwiches to long-cooked braises and simple but delicious, sweet finales. There’s a chapter each to “Veg,” and “Pies & Parcels,” pasta, seafood, fish, and chicken and duck, just for a few.

The inspiration you glean might find you bringing home an eggplant and chick peas or a bulb of fennel with some fish or ordering ras el hanout spice blend as I did. Its timing just as we’re anticipating farmers markets moving outdoors again is wonderful. 

Beginning with a salad with a toasted web of haloumi cheese dramatically topping sticky peaches over dressed salad greens and a green gazpacho a few pages further, the book will have you stopping to read and look plenty. Tunisian shrimp over pasta is  punched up with harissa; a veg & feta stuffed flatbread and cauliflower with romesco sauce of roasted red pepper and ground almonds give a good sense of possibility — mostly familiar ingredients with maybe a twist or two. Inspiration.

“Mediterranean” being shorthand for healthy and fresh, I took my copy to the gym, and very quickly I had two volunteer testers elbow deep in the book. The person recommending this title also tested a bit for me, as did I.

Any good cookbook inspires the confidence for adaptation and experiment. Substitutions for what’s on hand or what’s in season become “what is needed now.” Seldom do I come out with a recipe as written beyond the first go, if that, and that’s what each of us did in cooking from the book. We exceeded the five ingredients. (Writing recipes limited to five ingredients must be like cooking with one hand tried behind you. Think about that.) 

I substituted lamb stew meat for lamb shanks, using dried sour cherries and chick peas for a flavor profile somewhat east of the Mediterranean because I’m fond of the middle eastern penchant for meat braised with sour fruit. With the ras el hanout spice blend he calls for from Amazon, it was as delightfully authentic to a tagine as I’d hoped it would be. I’m delighted. 

A point of pride is that he writes each of his own recipes. Not all chefs do. So the recipes are approachable with a couple read-throughs. You might find yourself re-reading because Jamie writes very much as he speaks. And if listening and watching him work is the best means for learning to roll with him, there’s lots to tune into on YouTube. 

It seems he’s always been a natural for cooking and talking at the same time, all while facing into cameras that switch from one to the next. It’s both easy and enjoyable getting a better sense of how he cooks on video. He’ll send you an email every Monday too, if you like. Just visit jamieolover.com and sign up.

Look for the traffic cone orange book cover. It’s designed to make you reach for it.

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