The Education Of Jamie Oliver

One of the first things I ever learned to cook on my own as a teenager was salmon en papillotte. This might sound like a pretentious thing for a 15-year-old to be doing after school, but in truth it was shockingly easy. Fold a piece of fish and some sliced vegetables up in a piece of parchment paper, pop it in the toaster oven for a few minutes, and you’re done. 

It also seemed possible because I’d watched someone make it on television: Jamie Oliver in an episode of The Naked Chef, the early-aughts cooking show that catapulted him into food celebrity and launched a career that’s spanned a few  dozen more television series and specials and more than 30 cookbooks. While his laid-back, approachable style of cooking has remained the same throughout the years, the messages have changed, whether it’s critiques of institutional food systems or simplified one-pan meals. 

Oliver’s latest cookbook, Eat Yourself Healthy, is the culmination of what he’s learned since he completed a nutrition diploma in 2014. Last month, I chatted with Oliver about his new book and what he’s learned along the way during  his 25-year-long career—and I also mentioned my early foray into papillotte. He was delighted to hear it. 

“The money I got paid for [The Naked Chef], I spent it all on pots and pans,” he says. “Me and [my] Jules were still working extra jobs; she didn't cook at that point. I used to make little envelopes of dinner for her. Grab some ingredients, put them together in an envelope, and write how long you cook it for and what temperature.” A simple approach to feeding others, and to eating well. Here’s what else Oliver had to say about his new book, and his career now.

You sought a formal education in nutrition almost 10 years ago. What prompted you to do this?

I just thought that, look, I’m no longer the Jamie who left school and went out into the catering industry. Having a long-term relationship with a global public through cookbooks is such an honour and such a pleasure, but it's also an incredible responsibility. How can you be good at it? 

Everyone thinks there's a methodology, but really, my job is about listening to the public. My books are all reflections of that listening from that time, whether it's about price, or speed, or the hatred of washing up. But when it comes to nutrition, I was hearing a lot of worry and a lot of confusion about how it works. And the problem with science and nutrition is that if it's half true, it can be dangerous—or if it's [all] true, but out of context, it's also dangerous. I thought, I don’t want to be that guy, because I’ve built such amazing trust with the public. 

So years ago, I spent  a year training and getting, essentially, a degree in nutrition.

How did this change your relationship with food?

It was awesome, and I would recommend it to any chef. You’re learning about hardcore science, the stomach microbiome, the effects of vitamins and nutrients on your body. And you’re writing recipes then and there in the class.  Every book I write now is one-third indulgent recipes one-third everyday recipes and one-third healthy recipes. A beautiful mix of veggie, vegan meat, fish.

I started off being the edgy chef, and I'm not edgy anymore. I am Mr. Mainstream. I'm 50 years old. My job now is to be useful. 

That sounds very much like the ethos behind Eat Yourself Healthy. What’s your approach to accessible, healthy cooking in writing these recipes?

The book is trying to show clear and simple swaps, hacks and routines to teach you that food is not a binary in or out. It’s not you're good or you're bad, or that there are good and bad ingredients. If you can try and get it right most of the time, that’s what the journey is. 

I'm trying to show you what balance looks like in an illustrative way—what a portion of veg looks like, for example. And that it can be dry, fresh, tinned or frozen veg or fruit. If you think, “Oh, it's impossible to get fruit and veggies into my life,” well, maybe it's not. I think it all comes down to a lack of confidence and the fact that people think cooking is some special thing that we didn't do 100 years ago. But our ancestors cooked very well. They were very good at making a lot out of a little. 

Cooking on weeknights can be a real grind.

I think as far as the grind is concerned, food is no different than your wardrobe—if it's a good wardrobe, right? If it's raining, if it's snowing, if it's sunny, you'll put something different on if you've got half a brain, right? Cooking is the same. It's there to suit the weather and how you feel. That might be high energy, it might be low energy. It might be therapeutic or emotional.

What if that weather involves cooking for small children? Do you have any tips on translating this book’s philosophy into cooking for little ones?

All children are different, and there's different shades of good and awkward eaters, but ultimately, eating tends to be about frequency and comfort and familiarity. Kids are not genetically born on planet Earth to eat nuggets and burgers. It's called marketing, and it works. Your child is marketed to on the daily and our job, as parents, is to market the food at home. You can't control anything outside of home, but you can control the stuff in it. 

Any favourites?

The Lemon Tahini Chicken and Grains. I think that's just a really good way of using one pan, using different methods of cooking greens, which is dry frying and charring and speeding up the cooking of a chicken breast and flavouring it with more surface area. 

There’s also a grain bowl dish in this book that features…chicken and blistered blueberries? Tell me more about that one.

Yes! There are combinations that are always done that we know: duck and plum, cured meats and cherries, roast pork and apples. It's about fatty foods and acidity and deliciousness and switching on all five of your taste buds

But also, the health science around blueberries is super cool. People love blueberries. Kids love blueberries. They're amazing frozen. They're amazing fresh. You can get them in every corner shop and supermarket. So it's, like, other than just on some bloody yogurt, maybe, by blistering them, and putting them with chicken—though you could swap that out for other things, maybe fatty fish, you know, it could be smoked or unsmoked—you can have fun with them. Ultimately, it's about fat and sourness and surround-sound flavours.

I guess recipes like that are just trying to say that you can do something other than just blueberry pie or fruit and yogurt. I've got to get my percentage of solid recipes that I know people are gonna like. They're just boring enough. They're just predictable enough. We're kind of dangling stuff that might be perceived as weird…If you think I've gone a bit bonkers every now and again, that's probably okay.

Here's 3 delicious recipes from Eat Yourself Healthy.

Lemon Tahini Chicken and Grains

Here Oliver jazzes up a handy grain package, meaning you get big flavour, fast. Get this tahini chicken recipe.

Photo, David Loftus.

Chickpea Arrabbiata

Fast, spicy and delicious, this is the perfect midweek meal to put a smile on your face. Get this chickpea arrabbiata recipe.

Photo, David Loftus.

Smoked Salmon & Rye Omelet

A hearty breakfast that cooks up in less than 15 minutes. Get this salmon & rye omelet recipe.

Photo, David Loftus.