A book that has recipes for the beginner and slightly more advanced cook, with a focus on simple cooking with fresh ingredients. This one came a year or two after Oliver's campaign to change the British school lunch program from serving children processed foods to fresh produce, and throughout this book are photos of some of the people he converted from feeding their family's on a fast food diet to cooking healthy meals. ( )

There are some recipes in this cookbook that fit the criteria of Simple, Delicious, and Affordable.

Almost every chapter features multiple dishes that involve expensive cuts of meat like filet mignon, or expensive fish like salmon. Also, while the book is generally good about giving pictures of how to perform some of the more uncommon culinary techniques (like butterflying), the fact of the matter is that I wouldn't have someone try a recipe (or even look at a recipe) that involves butterflying until they'd figured out cutting, chopping, dicing and mincing. Butterflying requires dexterity and a really sharp knife, and if you don't have those (and I'd frankly expect most people to not have those), then it's not something your average reader (who Jamie claims he's shooting for) should be trying to do.

That said, the very first chapter of the book, where Jamie gives a list of (to use Alton Brown's terminology) useful and necessary hardware for your kitchen is incredibly useful and valuable. With the exception of the mortar and pestle, with this assortment of equipment, you have absolutely everything you need to learn to cook. The cupboard list is okay too, though I'd probably recommend dropping the Marmite or Vegemite for peanut butter. ( )

Another good one, with folks who don't have specialty food stores in their neighborhood. Or town. Or county!
Plain ol' Joes learning how to make good food, nice read, excellent recipes. ( )

It is hard to not get behind a book with such a worthy message. The photos are great - lots of steps and ingredient shots. The food looks good and I look forward to testing some of these recipes out. ( )

Ideal for when you need something tasty in a hurry, with simple ingredients ( )