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I last watched Jamie Oliver earlier this year, presenting a documentary about dyslexia – a condition he has and which, undiagnosed, caused him much suffering at school and in his early life – which was very good. I last watched Jamie Oliver cooking in Jamie Oliver’s Air Fryer Meals – a two-parter sponsored by Tefal – which was very bad.
Now he is back, with Jamie’s Cook-Ahead Christmas. He shows us a potato and fennel gratin that can be served au naturel or – with a last-minute pastry envelope and a few carvings and pinchings that would see me pulverise the whole thing into a catastrophe, but which anyone who reaches the threshold of “minimally coordinated human” should totally do – as a beautiful ruched pie. You can make and freeze that now and reheat it on Christmas Day. I would fear for such a process with a mixture of potato, cream and pastry, but I am a culinary berk and Jamie is not, so listen to him not me.
He takes care of your gravy needs (roast veg, rehydrate dried mushrooms, add rosemary, bay leaves, thyme, yeast extract, flour, blackcurrant jam, a stock cube and a couple of tablespoons of vinegar). He makes a stuffing that will allow you to fill the turkey and a jelly mould and bake the latter so the whole outside is crispy, therefore achieving stuffing nirvana. He whips up a variety of flavoured butters (freeze them in discs between greaseproof paper then you can just lay them over whatever dish you need to at the last moment), and an arctic roll for pudding that will – OBVS – sit happily in your freezer until needed.
It’s a really thoughtfully put together selection. None of the recipes are complicated, even though the main priority is for them to be doable in advance. And almost all of them can accommodate easy variations to take guests’ personal tastes into account (the gravy, for example, branches into versions for vegetarians and vegans and for those needing gluten-free) and the pastry for the gratin pie can be anything from ready-rolled shop-bought to homemade, with grated walnuts for extra points.
He’s full of helpful tips like rolling dough between greaseproof paper to prevent cracking, and arctic roll sponge while it’s still warm for the same reason, and dropping reminders in about which flavours go well together – squash and ground coriander, cumin and carrots, cranberries with your enemies. Not really. That last one is mine. I hate cranberries.
Jamie Oliver – absent air fryers – is always good at content. It’s the form that some struggle with. The famous Jamie shtick, the high-octane bish-bash-boshing, “mega” most things, “epic” everything else, “cor!”, “amazing!”, “Lovely jubbly!”, great sighs and groans of inexpressible happiness at all points in between. I have, historically, been unable to cope with this. I am not made for joy and I find it impossible to believe in.
But this time out, he seems calmer. There is still a scattering of “epics” and “happy days”, plus a “golden blipping perfection” but it’s all much less frenetic than it used to be. Perhaps Jamie is more confident. Perhaps, after a quarter of a century in the TV chef business he has become secure in the knowledge that his experience and expertise will carry him through, that viewers will stay with him even if he is not bouncing off the walls. Maybe he has intuited that we are living in less exuberant times than when we first met him in 1999 and has adjusted his style accordingly. Or maybe he’s just turned 50 and doesn’t have the energy any more.
Whatever the reason, I suspect this new iteration will rebalance the fanbase. Those who always recoiled slightly from the original, wall-bouncing brand can look forward to gathering around this new, more welcoming host and starting to feel the fondness those who responded in their millions to the cheeky-chappy chef have always done. To the latter group, I can only offer my condolences and hope that either another new kid on the block turns up for you soon, or that the years catch up with you too and you begin to appreciate his elder statesman era.
