Jamie’s at it again...quick & easy food

Jamie Oliver is back for another helping of his lipsmacking series in which he cooks up four more swift and tasty dishes.

This week, it’s Sicilian tuna pasta – one of the fastest family suppers it is possible to make – followed by some seriously stunning aubergines with attitude – sticky teriyaki aubergine.

Next up, the chef prepares his super-quick and easy version of spicy beef and cauliflower rice, a useful way to impart gorgeous Indonesian flavours fast. To top it off, he makes asparagus and eggs with a French dressing.

For many who have watched Jamie go from zero to hero, it’s hard to believe that in early 1997, very few people had heard of him.

The BBC documentary Christmas at the River Cafe was just meant to be a filler show that would inspire a few home cooks. However, a fresh-faced Oliver debuted and suddenly BBC bosses sat up and took notice.

By April 1999 he’d landed his own series, The Naked Chef, and Jamie proved that everyday blokes could be just as good in the kitchen as seasoned TV legends like Keith Floyd and Delia Smith.

His book (the first of many) soon became a bestseller, and cooking for then-Prime Minister Tony Blair only helped boost his profile. Little wonder Beeb bosses green-lit two more series of The Naked Chef.

Like a slab of tasty fish, it wasn’t long before Channel 4 poached Jamie, and he soon became one of their biggest assets.

His first C4 series, Jamie’s Kitchen, followed the establishment of Fifteen restaurant in London, which trained young adults who had a disadvantaged background. By 2005, he embarked on a campaign to ensure kids were eating a more balanced diet.

The TV series Jamie’s Ministry of Food went down a storm with millions, and it was inevitable he’d try to take his ideas to the United States.

Jamie’s American Food Revolution saw Oliver attempting to reform US school lunches. It also won critical acclaim across the Pond, and landed him an Emmy for Outstanding Reality Programme.

Though a second run was given the green light, it was axed due to poor ratings. Not that it mattered too much on the restaurant front.

Jamie’s Italian launched in 2008, and became a global smash, with branches around the world. At its peak there were 42 such restaurants in the UK, and it was turning over 108million pounds per year.

Alas, eventually the chain collapsed and Jamie was reduced to tears when he revisited his beloved, desolate Fifteen.

“To survive in this industry is really tough,” he told Davina McCall a couple of years ago. “I was very naive at the time. I was good at running one restaurant, but I wouldn’t call myself a businessman.”

Obviously with Covid-19 having a devastating effect on restaurants around the world, it’s anyone’s guess whether his eatery chain would have survived the pandemic anyway. However, as long as he has great ideas for rustling up tasty food and a camera in front of him, thankfully there’s little chance of Jamie Oliver going anywhere just yet.

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