The naked chef

'I didn't want to do clichéd TV cooking. The title Naked Chef sums up the idea: it's basically stripping food back to the bare essentials. It's me cooking at home, sociable, simple food with my friends, stuff you can put in the middle of the table, on real occasions. Or I'm in the markets, asking questions a lot of people feel they can't ask: it's reality, and I want it to be fun.' JAMIE OLIVER JAMIE OLIVER is Britain's most talented, exciting and unpretentious young chef. Charismatic, streetwise and passionate about food. Jamie started cooking when he was eight and has worked with many of the biggest names in British cooking. In THE NAKED CHEF, Jamie has applied his 'strip it bare then make it work principle' to all his meals - from salads to roasts, desserts to pastas - and has created a foolproof repertoire of simple, feisty and delicious recipes which combine bold flavours with fresh ingredients. At the same time he avoids culinary jargon and any complicated, time-consuming process that isn't justified by the end results. This is a book that will appeal to everyone; from those who want great, modern food but who also want to keep things simple, to those who want to prepare fantastic meals but don't have the time to spend all night cooking. THE NAKED CHEF is all about giving people confidence and getting them to feel at ease in the kitchen, and the meals Jamie makes are ones that anyone - even a kitchenphobe - can make themselves and will be as delicious when cooked at home as they are mouth-watering on the screen.