Jamie Oliver is a phenomenon in the world of food. He is one of the world's most loved television personalities and one of Britain's most famous exports. Jamie has had huge success with television series “The Naked Chef”, “Jamie's Kitchen”, “Jamie's School Dinners”, “Jamie's Great Italian Escape”, “Return to School Dinners”, “Jamie at Home” , “Jamie's Ministry of Food” and more... Jamie has inspired people to spend more time enjoying being in the kitchen – and even start growing their own food. His programs have now been broadcast in over 100 countries. His cookbooks (“The Ministry of Food”, “Jamie's 30 Minute Meals”, “Jamie's Dinners”, “Jamie's America”, “Jamie Does”, “Jamie's Italy”, etc.) are the fastest-selling non-fiction books since records began.
His cookbook, named “Cook With Jamie”,  released in 2007 is still a bestseller and it was awarded the 2008 IACP award for best cookbook under the General category. He believes that this should be every bodies first cookbook because it is a crash course in the basics of food, shopping, and cooking with great ingredients.    
As always, Oliver begins his book with essential tools you must have in your kitchen, somewhat implying that this is a book for absolute beginners. However, he skips the grocery list and goes straight to the recipe chapters. In 447 pages he talks about salads, pasta, gnocchi and risotto, meat, fish, vegetables, desserts, as well as about food safety, freezing, knife sharpening, knife skills, and herbs and spices.
Jamie has seen fit to include a lengthy introduction to each chapter that gives the reader an idea of the methods he uses to think up his recipes. For instance, in his introduction to the salads chapter, he advises the reader to take a leaf of bitter chicory and taste. “What would go with it to complement that bitterness?” It's here that Jamie really scores points by asking questions of the reader and not just forcing them to follow his recipes to the letter. He encourages experimentation and while all of his previous books say a similar thing, in this, the chapter introductions are really a foundation for the beginning chef to create their own masterpiece. Jamie's flavors are spot-on and the recipes give a chance for the individual ingredients to shine through. Though the recipes are simple, they are not generic. Some of Oliver’s objectives were to get people inspired about fresh products, shopping, and trying new flavors in the kitchen using the same amount of effort you would for your usual meals, and he accomplishes these all with flying colors. Even those more experienced in the kitchen will appreciate the simple but interesting recipes.
Jamie owes a lot to David Loftus, the photographer for this book. He did a fantastic job translating Oliver’s natural approach to cooking into breathtaking photographs that appear in the book.
Oliver has created a truly important book for anyone who just wants to cook better and have fun in the process. As he says, if you are going to eat three times a day for the rest of your life, you might as well learn to cook properly and enjoy it.