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The Naked Chef
by Jamie Oliver
Hyperion
ISBN 0-7868-6617-9
Published September 2000 - Hardcover - 250 pages - $34.95

Jamie Oliver, the cooking Cockney, burst onto the scene a few years ago and hasn't stopped.  It is in fact, a little exhausting watching the energy he expends.  I've seen his great television shows as well as the one where he took young and unemployed kids and taught them how to cook, hopefully resulting in them getting jobs.  There's no holding Jamie back and he calls things as he sees them.  On this TV show he calls everyone either, "my old mate", "darlin'", or "love".  My sister, who lives in England, first turned me on to his cooking because it looked refreshing and fun - it was - and the food was gorgeous. He looks like a teenager (he's just about past his mid-twenties and the father of two now) and has the energy to match.  After a three-year stint at Westminster Catering College, he started working in restaurants in both England and France and finally, at the famous River Cafe in London.
He believes in having a stock of good basics in one's kitchen so that you're always able to slap together something in a hurry.  Jamie loves experimenting and gives some enticing soups, delicious salads and dressings, pasta (including making your own, and, yes, pesto sauce), seafood, meat and poultry, vegetables, breads, desserts, and stocks and sauces.  Very comprehensive.  I liked the idea of using so many fresh herbs as it really does enhance flavors.  As soon as I get my own kitchen up and running, this book is going to become indespensible.  It's full of tempting photographs as well as lots of fun ones - a nice touch - and his quirky comments are a delight.  Jamie Oliver isn't one of those "big shot" chefs (he is, but he doesn't act like one) and on his TV show he made do cooking in the tiniest of kitchens in his own apartment.  There really is no excuse not to experiment - you don't have to have the best of everything to hand in order to produce great dishes.
By the way, it's the food that's naked, not Jamie - just in case you're new to this character.  This book should continue to sell for years to come.
Conclusion - No fuss, just good food with lots of exciting dishes to try out - wonderful.