Jamie's Great Britain

So last night saw the beginning of Jamie Oliver's new series Jamie's Great Britain, which of course saw me excitedly refreshing my laptop at 10 o'clock waiting for it to come on to 4od (I don't have a tv). I love a brand new cookery programme (mainly because I spend the time that there aren't any watching reruns of all the ones I've already seen) and now they seem to be all over the place. River Cottage Veg Everyday, Nigel Slater's Simple Cooking, Home Cooking Made Easy- I'm a woman in heaven at the moment. 

So anyway- Jamie. It's easy to say that I wasn't disappointed. To start with, visually it was beautiful. That's what I love about Jamie's recipes and programmes- all the food just looks so beautiful and rustic that it seems impressive and yet achievable, you just want to immediately rush off and cook everything he makes (simultaneously serving it on an old wooden board and slathering it with olive oil 'just to finish it off'). Last night's programme was no exception. Everything, whether made by him or the street vendors shown, just looked (for want of a better word) delicious. That sole! The burger! The Vietnamese pork sandwich! The bass! I'm getting my knife and fork out just remembering it. The Dover sole with the cockles and shrimp was definitely the one recipe that was right up my street, all that delicious seafood in a buttery, herby, lemon sauce- somebody pass me a napkin! However, that said, I don't think that I would call the fish the star of the show. I have one word for you- pie. Mr Oliver took all that was good in the world (and therefore extremely bad for you- we're talking 'adds inches just by looking at it' bad) and put it in a pretty white dish. Beef, beer, thick crispy pastry, cheese! It's the type of food you fantasise about when you're half way up a fell in the Lake District, cold, hungry and wet. And it just looked... awesome.

I wouldn't say that there were negative points for me, although the oysters he prepared looked a little scary; they are something I've never tried (yet) and the dressings he made, which I'm sure were delicious, didn't make me want to rush out and pop my oyster cherry. Also, the sea bass in a bag looked gorgeous, but I definitely don't share Jamie's love for all things fennel. Quite the opposite- I avoid it like the washing up. I would unquestionably have to trade the offensive vegetable for something a little less like sambuca. Overall though, a fantastic show with lovely, non-pretentious food, leaving me very excited for next Tuesday when I will be at home for reading week and can watch the next installment on an actual television! I can imagine the chillies and olive oil now...

[photos from channel4.com]