It’s (dinner) party time!
Jamie Oliver’s new recipe book, Together, is a homage to the great home feast. The chef reveals why it’s the perfect time to entertain once again
JAMIE Oliver is an absolute machine. The celebrity chef – no longer ‘naked’, but very much clothed and still campaigning for us all to cook (stress-free) from scratch at home – is back with a new recipe collection, Together.
While not all five of his children are featured on the cover (three are, we get the sense the teenagers have bowed out this time around), this book is all about feeding the people you love.
With most people now vaccinated and social restrictions lifted, Jamie is betting people will be eager to host dinner parties, brunches and holiday gatherings.
His 25th cookbook shows readers how to throw a big party in true Oliver fashion – without too much fuss, so the cook can have fun, too.
The emphasis is on sharing delicious meals together rather than spending all your time stressed in the kitchen and it is packed full of tasty, comforting dishes that require minimum preparation.
Jamie says: “Together is a real homage to the great home feast, something I have really missed sharing with friends and family over the past year.
“So many people find real joy in a shared meal, have rediscovered a love of cooking or perhaps even given it a go for the first time.
“I wanted the recipes to feel like a culinary light at the end of the tunnel, where food can be enjoyed and savoured.
“This is about giving you an excuse to get the people you love around the table again.”
As is usually the case nowadays, the cookbook is tied to a new television series.
In each episode of Channel 4’s Jamie Oliver: Together, the chef will take us through the recipes step by step, making them for his
Together is a real homage to the great home feast, something I have really missed sharing with friends and family over the past year.
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver on his new TV series and book
and friends, so we can make them for ours.
Whether it’s hosting a beautiful curry night, summery feast, or a celebration meal, Jamie’s got you covered.
Dedicated to NHS staff, the impact of the pandemic is a thread that Jamie picks up on throughout.
In the first episode the chef prepares a feast for people doing volfamily untary work through the pandemic, from helping at food banks and vaccination centres to sewing PPE.
The centrepiece of the meal is salmon decorated and flavoured with rosemary, chillies, capers and anchovies, served with a lemony potato salad and extra sweet oregano and garlic roasted tomatoes.
Jamie also serves up cheesy puffs as canapés, strawberry and prosecco cocktails, and a summer pudding made with strawberries, cucumber and Pimm’s.
And he’s right, it’s very lovely to be able to sit down, chat and eat together again.
■ Together by Jamie Oliver is published by Penguin Random House (c) Jamie Oliver Enterprises Limited (2021 Together), priced £26. Photography by David Loftus. Available now
■ Jamie Oliver: Together is on Mondays, Channel 4, at 8pm