A new BBC import to the U.S. cable network Food TV. It features, young, hip, cook and musician, Jamie Oliver. The show is presented in an interview style, wherein an off camera voice questions Jamie periodically about his choice of ingredients and motivations towards certain dishes.
The show is filmed in Jamie's ultra swank, yet contemporarily rustic, UK flat and miniscule, yet efficient kitchen. More often than not Jamie is seen cooking to host parties for friends or relatives. At least twice per episode, he is seen sliding down the banner of a circular staircase.
I'm not really sure what to think of Jamie, or his show yet. The episodes are all shot and edited in a very MTV sort of manner, with a lot of closeups and jerky camera movement. Consequently, it is sometimes difficult to discern what he is doing, or the how he is doing it.
Because the show, and its participants are British, the measurements and cooking temperatures used are somewhat foreign to me. Jamie measure his food by weight, not volume. Some would tell you that this method is preferred and more accurate. Those people are probably right, but that ain't how my momma taught me to cook, and I don't learn new things easily.
Having said that, I really enjoy the Jamie's recipes and have already used some of them. Although I haven't seen him boil anything yet, I remain confident that traditional british cooking will be given its due time.
Even so, the recipes are not enough to save this show. The editing gives me a headache and I truly despise Jamie. He has some of the most annoying banter. He constantly explains how simple something is while simultaneously performing practiced knife routines that would have novices in the emergency ward.
Most of all though, I hate how he cooks. In a manner reminiscent of sketch comedy, he seems compelled to stick his hands in every dish and seemingly refuses to use common kitchen utensils like a spoon, or spatula. Presumably they're too complicated for his "dead easy" cooking method, after all, not everyone owns spoons.
Need a salad tossed? Hey, just dig in one filthy paw! Want apricot chutney? Mash vigorously between soiled fingers! Need to carefully measure butter? Hey, just pinch a bit off the corner with thumb and forefinger! And for heavens sake Jamie, don't let us see you washing your hands! That would be uncivilized!
The most troubling part of the show is, there seems to be no indication why the title refers to a disrobed cooking master. Jamie is always fully clothed and no nudity is present. I can only presume that the word naked has some UK slang meaning that I am not aware of.
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