Food nostalgia: The 5 ingredients Jamie Oliver made famous

This May, we’re raising a glass to Jamie as he hits the big 5-0, and it’s the perfect time to look back at the impact he’s had on the way we cook and eat.

Back in the late 90s, a fresh-faced Jamie burst onto our screens with The Naked Chef, bringing a laid-back, no-fuss vibe to home cooking. His style was about making delicious food accessible, and what set him apart was his relentless celebration of simple, fresh ingredients and bold flavours.

Fast forward 25 years, and plenty of the ingredients he championed back then are now kitchen staples, but at the time, they were total game-changers.

So, let’s take a little stroll down memory lane and revisit the top 5 ingredients Jamie made popular… Plus a few classic recipes that’ll have you feeling seriously nostalgic.

Fresh herbs

Back in the day, fresh herbs weren’t a staple in British homes – you’d be more likely to find jars of the dried stuff in people’s cupboards – and fresh leaves were mostly used as a garnish in top kitchens. Then along came Jamie, tearing up basil and chucking handfuls of mint into his salads. Suddenly, herbs weren’t just a fancy garnish – they were the secret to a simple dish bursting with fresh flavour.

These days, it’s hard to imagine a supermarket without shelves stacked with basil, rosemary, thyme, mint, even curry leaves. But it was Jamie’s enthusiasm for fresh herbs that helped make them a household staple.

A classic Jamie recipe from The Naked Chef days – a combo of the best prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella and the ripest peaches with torn fresh mint and a simple lemon oil dressing.

Balsamic vinegar

Through his TV appearances and cookbooks, Jamie introduced us to the joy of balsamic vinegar in all its varieties – from the basic, thinner version to the richer, thicker syrupy kind that would finish off dishes beautifully.

A beauty of a dish that changed how we think about dressing salads. Loads of bold flavours and plenty of balsamic.

A River Cafe gem that Jamie brought to the masses. Plenty of balsamic used in this one – but, as Jamie says, you need to keep the faith! The end result is sticky and delicious.

Fresh pasta

When Jamie was first starting out, fresh pasta was considered a luxury – something you’d get at an Italian restaurant, or perhaps try to make for a special occasion. But Jamie made it feel possible for everyone. Drawing inspiration from his work with the legendary Gennaro Contaldo, Jamie introduced fresh pasta to a whole new generation, and it wasn’t long before supermarkets jumped on the bandwagon and started stocking it. And just like that, fresh pasta went from a rare treat to an everyday staple in British kitchens.

In The Naked Chef, Jamie demonstrated just how simple it was to make pasta from scratch, proving that anyone could whip up beautiful, fresh pasta dishes in their own home.

If there’s one pasta dish that sums up Jamie’s journey, it’s this one. Back in the late 90s, Jamie was working his magic at the legendary River Cafe, rolling up this rotolo when a TV crew happened to catch him in action. That moment kicked off everything: the pilot that led to The Naked Chef, and the rest is history! Jamie’s rotolo is pure comfort – silky fresh pasta wrapped around sweet squash and spinach.

Quality olive oil

Back in the 1950s, culinary legend Elizabeth David introduced olive oil to a postwar British audience, revolutionising the way Brits cooked at that time. The 90s and early 00s saw a resurgence in the popularity of olive oil, with Jamie at the helm championing its use. He helped the British public understand the difference between extra virgin olive oil for dressings and drizzling and more affordable olive oils for cooking. He encouraged people to seek out ‘new season’s’ olive oils – oil made from the first olive harvest – heroing Tuscan producers – to bring a complexity and depth of flavour to dishes that home cooks had never experienced before.

The thing about great-quality olive oil is that it will elevate really simple ingredients to flavoursome heights – especially cold-pressed olive oil that preserves the intense olive flavour. And that’s so true of this recipe. Sweet leeks and garlic are cooked until soft and sweet, then stewed with plump jarred chickpeas. The dish is finished with cold-pressed olive oil; it’s a next-level side. Serve with fresh bread for mopping up those lovely juices.

Jamie finishes this rich, silky Tuscan soup (from Jamie’s Italy) with 6 tablespoons of beautiful extra virgin olive oil just before serving, turning a simple dish into something really special. Jamie’s cooking has always been about treating a few quality ingredients with love and care to create something truly delicious.

Red chillies

Another staple that Jamie popularised was fresh red chillies. Used to add subtle warmth to a variety of dishes, fresh chillies became one of his signature ingredients. Whether finely chopped and sprinkled over salads or added to tomato sauces in the Naked Chef days, fresh chillies gave a new dimension to food. He also championed freezing them, so you’ve always got one to hand, then grating straight into dishes, which also helps reduce food waste.

A classic of the genre, why not try Jamie’s hero recipe for a tomato sauce? The chillies are halved lengthways (but you can also prick and leave them whole) and added to the sauce to impart a fruity, gentle hum of heat. At the end of cooking you can chop them up and return to the sauce for extra heat, or simply remove them: they’ve done their work!

AKA Jamie’s ‘desert-island dish’. Here he uses both fresh and dried red chillies, pricking the fresh whole chillies and ‘coddling’ them in a little oil to soften the heat in the rich tomato sauce and to make his own chilli oil to use another day. Winner!

A classic recipe from Happy Days with the Naked Chef, Jamie blew our minds with this relaxed summery salad starring charred courgettes. He used the delicious combo of fresh mint, extra virgin olive oil and finely chopped red chilli to elevate a seasonal veg to exciting new heights. Simple, but a revelation!