Page 2 | What planet is Jamie Oliver on? £1

BananaCocktails · 2023-03-20T21:04:51+00:00

I just want to say I absolutely love Jamie, Oliver, and his cooking . watching £1 wonders right now he is using up some very expensive ingredients, 3/4 of a bar of butter isn’t budget friendly at all, if I had butter, I certainly wouldn’t be using almost all of it in one recipe it’s so expensive nowadays he is also using olive oil, another very expensive ingredient I feel like I’m moaning, but I went to Sainsbury’s today and spent almost £20 and bloody packed lunch alone for the kids. I absolutely hate margarine so bit the bullet and bought butter which was £2.60!

ScrambledSmegs · 20/03/2023 21:50

He seems to use extra virgin olive oil for cooking which I thought was quite bad for you as it doesn't tolerate high heat well. I only use it occasionally for drizzling over finished meals, a little goes a long way.

Delia's Frugal Food is pretty good for cheap and cheerful recipes but it's quite dated as you'd expect for a book first published in 1976. No balsamic vinegar. However there is an entire chapter dedicated to offal! Beat that, Jamie.

Wagstastic · 20/03/2023 21:51

I like watching him and he is a nice bloke, but generally don't follow his menus. Apart from this new £1 show, most of his recipes have like loads of ingredients.

RosesAndHellebores · 20/03/2023 21:52

My pleasure @Alexandra2001.

SnowBrussels · 20/03/2023 21:54

Miguel Barclay is much better on this topic.

GoEasySqueezy · 20/03/2023 22:03

HelenaJustina · 20/03/2023 21:10

He is also somewhat stingy with portions, I watched an episode last week where a pizza made in a frying pan was a £1 a portion, but each person got 1/8 of a pizza. My teenagers would have been eating their own arms off if I’d served them 1/8 of a pizza!

The pizza served 2 not 8

Whatalovelypair · 20/03/2023 22:06

The pie today serves 8. I'm so sick of millionaires playing poster boy for poverty and I'm not sure his calculations are right. Hes doing this annoying thing that some men do, being so pleased with themselves for doing something basic and wanting a head pat and a gold star sticker for it.

Puygo · 20/03/2023 22:08

I actually made the pizza with my 10 year old and we ate it between the two of us for lunch

Colourfingers2 · 20/03/2023 22:11

Whatalovelypair · 20/03/2023 22:06

The pie today serves 8. I'm so sick of millionaires playing poster boy for poverty and I'm not sure his calculations are right. Hes doing this annoying thing that some men do, being so pleased with themselves for doing something basic and wanting a head pat and a gold star sticker for it.

That’s a bit unfair. Not all men need constant validation, I didn’t even a a kid and I remember that I always thought it was weird when children did like putting their hands up to answer a question making noises like they were about to have a shit…
Anyway my two exes needed constant thanks and apologies for every single little thing they bloody did and I couldn’t understand that either when all I got was criticism.

FancyFanny · 20/03/2023 22:12

Fuel costs are high and food is a bit more expensive right now but the whole country isn't living in absolute poverty like MN seems to make out.

Some people still want to see recipes that are bit cheaper to make but don't need to live off gruel for the foreseeable future.

smashinggrapes · 20/03/2023 22:13

"He's a big liar as oven chips (why say 16-18 mins when we all know it takes you double to cook you sneaky **s)!"

Check the seal on your oven door. Suspect it's not doing its job.

NewBootsAndRanty · 20/03/2023 22:13

@Colourfingers2 I think that's why Whatalovelypair said some men, not all.

IClaudine · 20/03/2023 22:16

HelenaJustina · 20/03/2023 21:10

He is also somewhat stingy with portions, I watched an episode last week where a pizza made in a frying pan was a £1 a portion, but each person got 1/8 of a pizza. My teenagers would have been eating their own arms off if I’d served them 1/8 of a pizza!

To be fair, that pizza was to serve two not
Agree his portions are too small, but he has some good ideas. At least he is trying to help.

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetable-recipes/no-oven-pizza/
Now, which one of you is Jack Monroe? 😁

IClaudine · 20/03/2023 22:17

Puygo · 20/03/2023 22:08

I actually made the pizza with my 10 year old and we ate it between the two of us for lunch

Was it nice?

Snooks1971 · 20/03/2023 22:19

RosesAndHellebores · 20/03/2023 21:23

@HelenaJustina . I've never loved his recipes and books.

Tesco butter is £1.99. It does and is better than Bertolli - not quite up there with the best French choices.

I think cooking and stretching a budget are lost arts. Gammon joint slow roasted with roasties, Carrots, broad beans in parsley sauce. Chopped gammon on suet pastry, rolled and steamed. Served with some of the gammon liquor made into a parsley sauce and Carrots and/or cabbage. More leftovers for a cheesy pasta bake with brocoli. The bone can form the base of a minestrone for pennies.

Sliced potato, sliced onion, pepper, chopped bacon on layers deeper but like lasagne with a cheese sauce poured through and baked. Excellent with cabbage or brocoli and Carrots.

Tomato sauce with softened onion, a few black olives, chilli flakes, half glass of red, stirred through pasta.

Chicken thighs with lemon, pepper, garlic and paprika with cous cous and a leafy salad.

Liver and bacon.

All.good, cheap family meals.

I so love you!

NewBootsAndRanty · 20/03/2023 22:20

Looks like the pizza recipe was costed 6 months ago, so prices have shot up even since then..

LucyLeave · 20/03/2023 22:27

I can't stand JO so even if his recipes cost 10p I'd still think he was a twat.

Zizz · 20/03/2023 22:28

Lightninginabox · 20/03/2023 21:35

Is liver as nutritious as it’s claimed to be? I had some with bacon mash and gravy recently and it was I assume an acquired taste but so apparently good for price/micronutrients/environmentalism ie trying to eat every bit of the animal possible.

But still bleurgh. Lambs liver. I soaked it in milk first. What am I doing wrong?

Coat it thickly in flour and fry slowly in butter (well, I use Anchor Spreadable). Serve with fried bacon, baked beans and saute potatoes. Perfect.

GoingOnce · 20/03/2023 22:42

I love Jamie. He’s had so much stick over the years for just trying to help. He makes me feel nostalgic for Naked Chef days when I was at university and we would tune in and swoon. He’s pure late 90s to me.

ForestofD · 20/03/2023 22:44

I signed up for his £1 meal emails- they were actually quite good. The 'scruffy lasagne' using frozen veg has proved very popular in our house.

IClaudine · 20/03/2023 22:44

He can be annoying, but I do think his heart is in the right place. I use a lot of his recipes, they almost always work for me, with the odd exception.

JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn · 20/03/2023 22:58

I gave up with the programme this evening, there were sooo many ingredients it was never gonna happen in this house.

(Also hate the way he throws olive oil on absolutely everything )

Original poster

BananaCocktails · 20/03/2023 23:00

RosesAndHellebores · 20/03/2023 21:23

@HelenaJustina . I've never loved his recipes and books.

Tesco butter is £1.99. It does and is better than Bertolli - not quite up there with the best French choices.

I think cooking and stretching a budget are lost arts. Gammon joint slow roasted with roasties, Carrots, broad beans in parsley sauce. Chopped gammon on suet pastry, rolled and steamed. Served with some of the gammon liquor made into a parsley sauce and Carrots and/or cabbage. More leftovers for a cheesy pasta bake with brocoli. The bone can form the base of a minestrone for pennies.

Sliced potato, sliced onion, pepper, chopped bacon on layers deeper but like lasagne with a cheese sauce poured through and baked. Excellent with cabbage or brocoli and Carrots.

Tomato sauce with softened onion, a few black olives, chilli flakes, half glass of red, stirred through pasta.

Chicken thighs with lemon, pepper, garlic and paprika with cous cous and a leafy salad.

Liver and bacon.

All.good, cheap family meals.

@HelenaJustina That sounds amazing and much cheaper than Jamie Olivers meals!
as others have said, you need a fortune to buy all the ingredients first
I’m not sure why he thinks olive oil and butter are budget friendly for cooking !

OP posts:

Yellowdays · 20/03/2023 23:09

I think he's great, and he's at least trying to acknowledge the economy. Nobody else is. And I think he is pretty good at suggesting all the alternatives, eg for shallots.

Surely anyone who wants flavoursome food on a low budget keeps in herbs and spices, at 52-90p a box.

Seeleyboo · 20/03/2023 23:13

HelenaJustina · 20/03/2023 21:10

He is also somewhat stingy with portions, I watched an episode last week where a pizza made in a frying pan was a £1 a portion, but each person got 1/8 of a pizza. My teenagers would have been eating their own arms off if I’d served them 1/8 of a pizza!

Thank god someone else has noticed this. I thought I was just a fat pig (definitely am)

RafaistheKingofClay · 20/03/2023 23:15

Yellowdays · 20/03/2023 23:09

I think he's great, and he's at least trying to acknowledge the economy. Nobody else is. And I think he is pretty good at suggesting all the alternatives, eg for shallots.

Surely anyone who wants flavoursome food on a low budget keeps in herbs and spices, at 52-90p a box.

There are quite a few budget/£1/feed a family for £20 a week things out there. The BBC have had £1 per portion meal plans in their cost of living section for a while. JO is very much not the only person doing this. And I’m not convinced he’s the best at doing it.
JO tend to suffer from living on a slightly different planet to the rest of the country. Does anyone remember that web chat he did on here with his last ‘budget’ book.