Nigel Slater.his budget, his kitchen, his food, him, rumble grump

[Minimammoth]

It had to be done. A Nigel Slater thread just to get it off your chest.
Do we really have the time that you have Nige?
Does he ever cook for more than one?

[Plonkysaurus]

I'm a fan of Nige, but he really needs to tone it down a bit.

I love the way he just pops over to Tom-from-the-deli's very normal kitchen and starts going through his cupboards. The spice market remark had me chuckling. DP assures me that after Nigel mucked about in Tom's kitchen he probably also propositioned him. I suppose if someone asked me if they could come over and cook dinner for me I'd be expecting at least a kiss.

We also like the way he stares out of his window/stands in the garden to eat his 'suppah'

[Crikeyblimey]

Best thing I ever bought dh was a Nigel cook book. It taught him how to look in the fridge, see what we have and make something. Instead of cooking like an engineer (using every dish in the house and chopping/slicing/weighing every ingredient on the extensive recipe before even starting to cook.

He is creepy though - Nigel, not dh.

[K8Middleton]

I want a big cupboard like Nige's. sigh.

[TheRealFellatio]

I agree Juggling I have almost 200 cookery books (am a bit obsessed) but the thing about our Nige is that everything is easy, non-poncey (in spite of the very affected style of the TV show) homely, and easily achievable. Nothing takes too much prep, too much skill or too much aforethought, and you've got to love that on a weekday evening. Almost every page of every book has something simple that you actually want to eat, and are capable of cooking.

And he gives great, very basic but invaluable advice about what things work together well. I think if you want to learn a repertoire of instinctive, everyday fresh home cooked meals from scratch then there is no-one better to learn from.

[peggotty]

Oh god don't get me started on Rick 'soap box' Stein! Chalky the dog didn't die of old age, he committed doggy suicide to get away from his insufferable owner!

[NettoSuperstar]

No, no, no.
He looks like he's about to burst into a performance of Riverdance.
Also, he needs to wash his hair and stop being so poncerama with his leftover cheese in brown paper with string.

I'm more the type who finds a leftover dairylea triangle wedged behind the salad drawer.

[TheRealFellatio]

Instead of cooking like an engineer (using every dish in the house and chopping/slicing/weighing every ingredient on the extensive recipe before even starting to cook.

Are we married to the same man?!

When I went away one the kids asked DH to make them scrambled eggs for breakfast. They still laugh to this day about how it took him two hours and involved printing reams of stuff off the internet.

[JugglingFromHereToThere]

Thanks Fell, see thinking of Nige (because of this thread) made me feel much happier about chopping up my lovely tenderstem broccoli and fresh on the vine tomatoes to add to the pasta sauce for our supper.

It's all about the ingredients - nothing wrong with that !

[RhinestoneCowgirl]

I like his recipes and have read Toast but I find him teeth grinding irritating on tv.

He did cook for Chloe our local greengrocer...

[JugglingFromHereToThere]

I think he does look slightly lonely sometimes - a bit like the days of Delia with her "cooking for one" - much better when he goes round to his mates house and they cook something together - at least as part of the show.

[JugglingFromHereToThere]

Anyway DS just pronounced his Nigel inspired pasta supper "good stuff"

[bunnybing]

I have a couple of his books and like realfellatio I like the fact that he keeps things simple.

And he doesn't have kids - which is a good thing because unlike Jamie Oliver or Gordon Ramsay he doesn't say thing like 'all kids love this recipe and beg me to make it on a weekly basis'. Yeah - all kids except mine who turn their noses up at it.

[JugglingFromHereToThere]

Any veggie friendly, non-recipe recipe books of his anyone wants to recommend ?

What's "Toast" like Rhinestone ?

[JugglingFromHereToThere]

DS (11) also declaring "I like broccoli ... especially with tomatoes"

Exactly DS, yummy wasn't it ?

[Shitsinger]

I love Nigel so bog off!
I also like Simon Hopkinson but then food is my main joy in life !
I would sell my kids for a nice loaf of bread

[RhinestoneCowgirl]

Toast is a memoir, with food. His mum died when he was young and his dad remarried fairly quickly and this obviously had a big impact on his life.

[mrsjay]

hI develop a twitch every time he opens a brown packet of scrummy butter or just whips u a simple meal yeah right nige simple supper my arse

[NobodyPutsTomArcherInTheCorner]

Noo I'm defending Nigel (Shields Nige with protective pan lid against the insults)

It's true I think I'd have a hard time feeding my lot on his idea of 'leftovers' because he does only seem to cook delicious morsels for one. But I like him because he cooks the things I would if I could. In a peaceful, calm and savouring way.

I live in a world where 5 want to woof down any old thing as they rush off to other places all at different times leaving me with the detritus. I don't think it even touches the sides and they barely notice if I make something special

[Arisbottle]

I agree most of his recipes are simple, my staple meals are mostly Nigel Slater and have been part of my repertoire for over a decade.

[Bue]

Love all his writing and especially his book Appetite. I don't think any recipe has more than about 6 ingredients and it makes you feel not so bad about a bowl of noodles with a scrap of pak choi being a meal (a regularity in this house) as it is Nige-Approved.

But his television persona has almost ruined him for me!

[ggirl]

I find him stomach churningly repellant , he makes my skin crawl.
Someone on MN must have met him in real life and be able to testify to his creepiness.

[Pannacotta]

He is a fab cook and even better food writer, but I do agree he is not good TV!
What I like is that he is instinctive and his food combinations are great, but he is just too shy and awkward to be on tele...

[Honsandrevels]

His tv programme doesn't match the books at all. We have a small paperback Nigel book - Real Fast Food - with no pictures that gives brilliant suggestions for quick meals with few/cupboard ingredients.

My children's favourite meal comes from it... pasta with cottage cheese. No brown paper or wanky deli ingredients there!

[K8Middleton]

I wonder if it would be better if Nige wordlessly pottered about the kitchen of some delightfully charismatic types before making them dinner and then silently watching them having a lovely time eating his food?

He did a brilliant sausages in mustard and creme frèche thingy once on the telly. I make it often.

[SirChenjin]

I think he would be lovely in RL - he looks very kind, quite reserved and utterly harmless - but I'd love to see him cooking things that don't come wrapped in bits of brown paper from expensive delis that don't exist outside the more chi chi neighbourhoods of affluent cities and towns across the UK.