New Jamie Oliver Show?

[Westy]

I heard Jamie Oliver is going to have a new show in the Food Network. Any idea on what the premise is going to be?

[rozz01]

It's also nice that someone on FN is trying to use natural ingredients, as
opposed to cream of mushroom soup or cheez whiz...

[yankeefan]

Definitely worthwhile, reminds me of the old school shows. He doesnt dope around and does some very interesting things. good job FN>

[VirgoBlue]

I love his new show. It's shot so beautifully and they've done a wonderful job of making it feel personal, intimate, and natural. So different from all the overproduced, cheesy cooking shows that are on the Food Network right now. I'm frankly surprised they decided to air something like this! And Jamie's dishes are unpretentious and look delicious.

I say more shows like this would be a welcome change for the FN! But I hear that's not the direction they're going in. What a shame.

[goodhealthgourmet]

"It's shot so beautifully and they've done a wonderful job of making it feel personal, intimate, and natural"

it's funny how we can all watch the same show and come away with such different critiques. several of us have discussed the fact that we find the camera work and editing of the show rather unpleasant to watch. those zooms & quick cutaways could give someone with a weak stomach motion sickness!

[VirgoBlue]

To each his/her own.

[Athena]

I might be wrong, but I don't think that's a potting shed he's cooking in, I think it's the kitchen in his farmhouse. And I want every bowl he has in that kitchen.

As for his accent, well, he's an Essex lad and that's what they sound like.

[Claudette]

I love his accent, even though I don't understand half of what he says. I had that problem with Monty Python, too, and I would have enjoyed them more if only they cooked something...

[KTinNYC]

Athena, are you English? I'm not but to my ear he does not have an Essex accent but he has put on a mockney accent.

[Harters]

Linguistic posts normally get deleted for being off-topic but let's just say that he is a genuine Essex man and the "London" accent runs out that way. Can be difficult to draw a boundary, particularly when only a few miles are involved. Speech and regional accents change over time and what is now known as "Estuary English" is quite common even away from the immediate Thames Estuary area. Whether it's the accent of his youth or something later I wouldnt know.

And, yes, I'm a Brit (but coming from neither Essex or London)

[Dylan]

I love almost everything Jamie does. But does anyone agree that the guy can't make a cake to save his life? All of his cake recipes are of the "dump everything in and mix" variety, which while somehow viscerally satisfying and consistent with his method of cooking, makes for terrible cakes in my experience. And, he seems to believe that a good cake can be made in the food processor - he made squash muffins on his last show in this way. Has anyone actually tried them? I'm scared they would be a rubbery mess using his technique.

[singleguychef]

I actually thought his apple and blackberry pie in this past weekend's episode looked awful because it was all wet and drippy. The juice flooded out and the top shell looked like it was drowing in liquid. I think he needed to add flour to the fruit to thicken the juices.

But I did like his tart and how he topped it off with a watercress salad. That looked good.

I think Jamie does well with the unconstructed food like salads and main dishes, but not really on the pastries. I actually thought this episode had less an emphasis on the whole "things from the garden" theme because he really didn't talk about what he grew in his garden as ingredients for the pies and tarts he made.

Oh, but I did love how he scored the puff pastry for his steak pie and when it puffed up and was golden brown, it looked marvelous with the scoring.

http://singleguychef.blogspot.com/200...

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

We're actually doing a steak and Guinness pie (well, steak and Gritty McDuff's Black Fly Stout, which is even better) for dinner tonight based on this weekend's show. Can't wait!

The idea of using brisket pieces as part of a stew is rather fascinating to me: it's a great idea that I'm not sure would have ever occurred to me.

[goodhealthgourmet]

the only real mention he made of the garden concerned the frozen blackberries he used in the pie filling. then again, the episode was titled "pastry," so it wasn't the most garden-friendly topic. but you're right, he could have talked about whether the stinging nettle and other veggies came from his garden.

i agree with you that the pie looked like somewhat of a disaster, but that tart did look spectacular. and as he was scoring the puff pastry i was trying to envision what the finished product would look like...that was a great technique [and i imagine the filling was delicious].

[alias wade]

man, that steak and guinness pie looked good. making that for the super bowl party, definitely. maybe the spinach/ham baking sheet tart as well. No, I've never seen "a tart so visually appealing" (as JO put it). great, great episode, even if the fruit pie was too liquidy.

[Claudette]

His technique for the fruit pie crust edge was slick, but my family would howl if mine didn't have a nice, fat crimped edge.

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

The steak pie we made last night off Jamie's recipe (minus cheese, plus peas in the pie rather than on top) was one of the most satisfying things I've had in quite some time. I went for the full-on UK pub food effect by putting a dab of HP sauce on the corner of the plate for an occasional light drag-through.

[goodhealthgourmet]

why minus cheese?

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

Mostly because we didn't feel like going out and getting cheese. I'm sure it would have been tasty but I was more in the mood for a steak and mushroom pie.

[jdestes]

I was wondering the same thing, I kept waiting for him to add a little flour to the pie filling, but it never happened

[ccbweb]

Jaques Pepin did a wonderful food processor cake recipe on "Fast Food My Way."

I think it's entirely possible to make good cakes, muffins and doughs in the food processor if the recipe is designed to be done that way.

[goodhealthgourmet]

whether or not the muffins would be a "rubbery mess" depends on how much you process the dough, and on the gluten content of the flour. personally i mix all my muffin batters by hand, but i think it's probably possible to achieve the right consistency in the processor if you're very careful & don't overdo it.

[Mila]

This the new Jamie Oliver show I've been hearing about. I think it is a one off rather than a series due to be aired in Canada soon.

Wed 16 Jan 2008
Hi guys,

I have done another show for Channel 4's Food Season and it's airing tonight at 10pm. I'm not usually on TV as much as I am at the moment, but I just really believed in these shows. This next show is called Eat To Save Your Life and basically it's another studio-based show with 18 members of the great British public, all of whom have bad diets. With the help of a doctor and my good mate Jane Clarke, they each learn what is wrong with their diet, what's likely to happen to them if they don't take action and, most importantly, what action they can take to improve their diets. Essentially, it's a massive wake-up call to everyone and offers some practical solutions on how we can all eat better and maybe even prolong our lives.

One of the most amazing parts of the show is when the famous German doctor, Gunther von Hagens, performs an autopsy on a 25-stone man who literally ate himself to death. It's not pretty but I urge you not to turn away because the fascinating insight into what our diets are doing to our insides could inspire you to change your eating habits in a positive way.

[deibu]

I don't think this will get aired in America - obviously not on on the Food Network - only if BBC America picks up another Channel 4 series. They did rename and re-adjust the "34 Stone Teenager" documentary to the "476 Lb. Teenager" (don't know why we don't use stone in the US, 1 stone = 14 lbs., how hard can it be)?

Doubt it will come on BBC America though. BBC America started airing "Dancing with the Stars" a few weeks ago on Sat. nights. I tuned in, thinking it might be a re-airing of "Strictly Come Dancing". Turns out it was reruns of the ABC series! They say that "Dancing With the Stars" is produced by BBC Worldwide, so therefore they believe it is still part of the "BBC family" so it is appropriate.

Yet, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and other shows they rerun from ITV and Channel 4 are British, but not part of the "BBC family." So I hope this doesn't mean we get completely deprived of the best of British TV just so the BBC can make a few extra bucks with its overseas commercial operations. They already recommend that we put on "closed-captioning" before every program because they want to cater to American audiences that only understand the Queen's accent, and can't deal with an Essex, or a Mancunian or a Geordie accent... So they've dumbed it down enough that we won't get this kind of show either.

Guess I'll just have to look in some kind of downloading....

[Harters]

I can't understand the Queen's accent.

John the Mancunian

[alias wade]

oh, no-- have you hoodlums knocked out all her teeth? :)

[Harters]

Wishful thinking.

J

[NE_Elaine]

I watched part of one show. After watching him smush a duck and squash salad together to lump it on a plate, I have to say, I was not impressed. It may have been tasty, but it was definitely not eye candy.
I also find his mannerisms very distracting, why is he always waving his hands around? Every time he took a taste of something he would then wave his hands around while he was chewing. Maybe he should switch to decaf.
Does anyone else instantly think of the Geico gekko every time Jaime opens his mouth? I kept picturing this green lizard doing the cooking.

[NYCkaren]

We'll all have to agree to disagree about Jamie. I think his food looks tasty and he does too. And his rustic, slap-it-together esthetic is a breath of fresh air compared to much of what's on the Food Network.

[singleguychef]

I like it when he waves his arms around and dances. It's like pure pleasure of eating on display. I rather have that than a fake grin and "hmmm" from some toothy hostess or big busty hostess. ;-)

[rozz01]

Amen to thar Dude!!

[NE_Elaine]

Wellll, if those are my only choices, I guess I would watch Jamie before I watched that vapid blonde with her tablescapes. Thank goodness there are other options.

As I say, to each their own.

[goodhealthgourmet]

thank you! i thought i was the only once who was grossed out by the way he handled that salad. i posted another thread about it, and everyone jumped all over me, defending him and remarking that the flavor was more important and it didn't matter how the food looked...

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/478815

[singleguychef]

For me, I'm just really glad to see Jamie Oliver back on television in the United States. It's been a long stretch since we've seen him just cooking instead of fighting the British school lunch program or lauching a new restaurant with disadvantaged kids as helpers.

As for the show, I love it! Initially, I was a bit put off by the quietness of the sequences because there's no theme music or transition music. But near the end, I decided I loved that approached because it emphasizes the whole "getting back to the roots" of cooking.

BTW, the whole show is based on his new book "Jamie at Home" which is published out in Europe (we get his books in the states a year later, right now it's Cooking With Jamie for us in the U.S.) and emphasizes cooking and gardening tips (thus the scenes of him cooking in his tool shed.)

I also missed and am glad to see Oliver still have the same boyish charm and energy about cooking. For example, when he finished smoking a salmon in some biscuit can, he just laid it out, took a bite and didn't even have to say anything. He just motioned at the salmon and looked so pleased that you knew what he was saying. Then the theme music finally started to play and I loved the little ditty too!

Now, my big question is why does the Food Network air the show on Saturday mornings at 9:30 a.m.? Is that what they consider the peak time for people to watch food shows? I would rather see it on Sunday nights like the preview airing.

[LindaWhit]

Yeah, when I saw the preview, and realized it was going to be on my TV at 9:30am on Saturdays, I wondered the same thing. Guess because it's not a cake or candy contest or finding out about where candy comes from, or doesn't have any gratuitous cleavage, it has to be shown early in the morning. Figures. Brilliant marketing minds at work yet again at TFN.

[singleguychef]

yeah, what's with all those Food Challenge shows? I think it's fun now and then but seems like they're proliferating while nice quality shows focused on food like Oliver's get pushed to the weekends. I think FN execs (yeah Bob Tushman, were talking about you!) are catering to the non-cooks with all these reality-type shows and hoping the loyal original Food Network viewers will stay on for the weekends. That's a risky gamble given all the new food shows coming up on TLC, Bravo, etc.

[Westy]

Really? What shows (maybe time for a new thread)?

[ElissaInPlaya]

with TIVO, I don't care if they run a show at 3 a.m.

[aurora50]

But many of us don't have one.

[ooroger]

I was on the lookout for a biscuit tin this weekend to replicate his smoker. What a great idea. On the downside, I was slightly put off by his desire to preface the name of every vegetable with "Mister". Otherwise, a very solid show that emphasizes the raw beauty of good ingredients. I wonder how he'd approach Sandra Lee's Kwanzaa Cake?

[digkv]

I think that tin container smoker seems so interesting; I wonder if it really works. I have tons of those tins at home (not sure if it's the right metal or sturdy enough though). I also need to get a small grate that will fit in the container. Do you think it's safe to use any metal container or something; especially on the stove top?

[stellamystar]

Alton Brown made a smoker on a show in South BEach - he was demonstrating it to the audience. He used an old army box. It looked pretty easy. The box was metal.

[alias wade]

this is a very good use for a wok, as someone once demonstrated on the old iron chef. the shape of it is such that you can load up the bottom with wood shavings, and the heat transfer is great. plus, you're not cooking with a painted box, which (sorry Jamie and Alton) I dont like the idea of, even if the paint isn't on the inside. I think both those guys used kitchen surplus (if you will) mainly for effect... or maybe they don't own woks! (:))

[singleguychef]

The question I have is when you smoke it once, does that mean you toss out the biscuit tin? Because I wonder how much fire a tin can take before totally being useless. I don't think you can do it more than once or twice. I unfortunately, can't try it because I have an electric stove top. I think you really need a gas burner to do it.

And I agree, the Mister Potato, et al, was a bit Sesame Street.

http://singleguychef.blogspot.com/200...

[MysticYoYo]

I caught a bit of the commercial where Jamie was plating some cooked vegetables.

"Cooked vegetables" sounds so prosaic; the meal looked gorgeous, the vegetables ribbons of succulent, luscious color. Made me want to sink my teeth into my television screen.

[DiveFan]

Actually I was SHOCKED that FN started running a show hosted by an actual CHEF.
Wonder how long ago they obtained the rights to air it :-).

After I viewed the first episode I was mighty relieved not to have seen any Gratuitous Cleavage.

[Westy]

Agreed. I hope that it becomes popular enough that they offer similar shows featuring people that can cook.

[stellamystar]

I am not opposed to Eye Candy for the Ladies (meaning me) finally. Alton doesn't really curl my toes. Jamie, I am a fan of. Hee hee.

[aurora50]

Yeah. I don't know about anyone else, but I think it's kind of sexy, the way he handles the food.
; )

[stellamystar]

Mrs. O is a very lucky lady! A man who cooks and you wouldn't kick out of bed. As the Brits would say - Brilliant.

[gloriousfood]

A very good night would be Jamie and Tyler Florence back to back....

[aurora50]

Yeah Food Network, do something right for once!!!! LOL
Must-See TV.

[im_nomad]

I like his earlier shows far more than anything he's had out since. It was fun and young, and now he just seems kinda...umm...weird.... and the sleepy garden scenes do just that.....put me to sleep.....alternating with the superfast running commentary. I find something unsettling about this show that i can't put my finger on.

So last night, especially after reading many fans on this board...i decided to watch it on the FN (Canada)....he made rice pudding with strawberry jam and then crunched up meringues and fresh strawberries over top. Didn't appeal to me, and truthfully for some reason this dish, grossed me out..and i actually like rice pudding............. but whatever. Then shot to sleepy garden scene and JO talking to some guy....at which point i couldn't handle any more and changed the channel.

[Kagey]

Jamie certainly is different nowadays! He weighs a lot more and he's not as manic as he was in the Naked Chef. He seems more adult now, and possibly a little more jaded with life. I've been a fan of his for a long time, but I'm not sure which Jamie I prefer.

[ccbweb]

Interesting....what makes you think he's more jaded? He's definitely less manic and has certainly filled out or in or whatever.

[Kagey]

I haven't seen very many episodes of Jamie at Home, but it's just something in his attitude. I don't even mean it in a bad way; I was a little tired of all the jumpy enthusiasm of the Naked Chef show. Then again, here in the UK he's ALWAYS on tv, doing a new series, a Christmas special, another new series, appearing somewhere to talk about school lunches, another new series, etc. In many of these you really see those moments of difficulty: dealing with unruly teenagers at Fifteen, missing his wife on a tour of Italy, etc. I think I noticed it most in his Christmas special this year. The food looked wonderful, but he was so much more reserved. It just makes a strong contrast with the original show.

[sirregular]

Personally, I didn't think it was too bad. I enjoyed the "Chillies" show (seriously, who spells it like that?), but I do feel like he didn't really take much time to explain the ingredients, and I often got the feeling that he wasn't quite sure what he was talking about. The part with the pork roast cracked me up, though. "You can tell if it's done by sticking your finger in like this... OWWW SHI...." Cooked food is hot. Thanks for that lesson.

My Blog: http://www.epicureforum.com

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

"(seriously, who spells it like that?)"

Er...the British.

[ElizabethS]

I really enjoy this show - he made a broccoli and cauliflower canneloni dish which I have now made three times - it's delicious.

[getcyped]

ElizS-
can u tell me where I can get that recipe- it sounds good. I have to young boys and am trying to get them more veggies- maybe this will help!

[cheesemonger]

I think I would enjoy the show more if the camera would back more than an inch off the food. The camera shots are so tight, it's impossible to even see what's happening, what's in that pot. And, the initial shot is so out of focus, then has to get into focus, but your are looking at about 2 square inches of the pot, the dish, the ingredient, CUT to next shot, and now the next out of focus close-up coming up.

All long stable shots from a distance when looking at Jamie, then SUPERUPCLOSEFOCUSWHATISIT shots of the food. This trend started with the first Giada show, and I really wish it would go away.

It made me a little sick to watch it, I had to change the channel.

[maisonbistro]

I don't know but I love this show. It just makes me feel like it's Jamie giving me a private tour of his incredible garden and cooking "shed". It's rustic and well, makes me want to try every recipe (if only had the abundance of fresh recipes he does).

I did laugh during one of the episodes about lettuce, where he was mocking "normal" salads where you just chop a whole bunch of stuff and put in a bowl. I distinctly remember in his original show (I am horrible with names - but the one, before he was married, shot in his apartment, where he talked to someone off camera, explaining what he was doing), he was very proud to do a show about American food, and proceeded to give the recipe for "chopped salad".

[digkv]

I think you're talking about "the Naked Chef" which was a most interesting title for a cooking show. I enjoy Jamie's sort of rustic stlye cooking and it's nice to see but I feel like he talks really fast and stumbles over all his words. It's like he has so much to day so he says it all at once. Maybe it's his Essex accent or something but I'm used to listening to English accents and I think it's a combination of his lisp and wordiness that sometimes makes what he's saying seem like he's rushing through the show.

[mordacity]

The man has the oddest accent I've ever heard, and I've heard a bunch. I find it a little distracting, though that's not something that hurts the food of course. I made the mistake of telling my little sister and her friend that Jamie's first show was called the Naked Chef, so my attempts to watch the chili show last night were punctuated by loud calls for him to strip. I didn't get much out of it. :-)

[alias wade]

that chopped salad was actually on the second season of olivers twist, in the episode he cooks an "american" meal for one of his buddies, an elvis impersonator. (good one, too!) some very good stuff on that series, btw.(don't take me for a groupie-- it's just that olivers twist 2 is one of the few food titles that netflix has, and that I hadn't already seen.)

[monkeyrotica]

I find shows cut/edited like this unwatchable. I don't care how good the chef is, if they're using that tired MTV-style jumpcutting/closeup that was passe in 1990, forget it. I don't get sick, but it definitely gives me a headache.

Jacques Pepin's shows are the model of how to mix closups, pans, and wide shots without becoming boring.

[goodhealthgourmet]

as chesemonger said, they do it on giada's show as well...except the close-ups are frequently of her cleavage .

[Claudette]

I love Jamie, but I'm with you on the camerwork. This show isn't as bad as the Naked Chef, though - I got headaches from all that shaking and jerking around.

[Magictofu]

We've had the show for about a year now on the Canadian Food Network and new episodes are just beginning these days.

In my opinion, this is one of his best show and it should make anyone envious of his garden and wood oven.

[gridder]

Oh, yeah! I'd kill for that wood oven! (And the garden too -- I notice in the credits he has a gardener.)

[Agent Orange]

Yep. I think we saw one segment of cooking in the potting shed and another of cooking in the basement. Looks like a good show, I'll keep watching.

One thing that irked me was that he wasn't always specific about the ingredients he was using. Perhaps some of them are more obvious to British viewers, but I was baffled by his jarred chiles, for example.

[singleguychef]

I think the jarred chilies was actually a jar of roasted red bellpeppers. He says he used it because he didn't have time to "blackened" them on his own. The show featured a mix of chilies and bellpeppers, hot and sweet.

[gridder]

Yup -- I watched it tonight -- "Jamie at Home," I think. It looked good, but everything was so out of season (It was on peppers and chilles) it was a little off-putting. Man, that dude is a fast chopper! Also, he looks a bit like his is cooking in his potting shed, but I thought it was worth watching.

[getcyped]

i made that stuffed red pepper with the bacon and mozzerella- oh it was so great!

[wolfe]

go to foodnetwork.com, pick jamie, see what he is cooking possibly from his own garden.

[maisonbistro]

That's not a new show - at least not here on the Canadian Food Network.

[ML8000]

You Canucks always get stuff first. It's also not new in the sense it's produced in the UK. Who knows how many years behind it might be on the FN.