Jamie Oliver gets back to basics

Jamie Oliver’s career has been going strong for nearly 20 years. Beginning Monday, August 21, he is adding to his lengthy credentials by returning to the small screen with a new program called ‘Jamie’s Quick and Easy Food’. The chef recently spoke with Food & Wine to discuss why he chose to get back to basics in his new program. 

The premise of the show is to create mouth-watering dishes using only five ingredients and taking only 30 minutes to prepare. “It’s taken 20 years to make this show,” Jamie says. “It just struck me that having a large amount of ingredients is an incredible barrier to people either cooking, or not. I wanted to get as many people as possible to just have a go!”

In addition to talking about the show, Jamie talks about his school lunch initiatives, how his career has changed since he burst onto the scene in 1999 with The Naked Chef, and more. We learn that while the chef likes to get his kids to help in the kitchen, only one of his five children (six-year-old Buddy) has expressed an interest in being a chef like his dad. We may be watching a second generation of Chef Oliver in a few years.