“My approach has always been about simplifying cooking. As a chef, you can go one of two ways: to develop recipes that you keep secret, with all the pressure that comes with that; or let it flow through you and share it, giving people access to everything you do. And I went for the latter. But there’s no right or wrong way – I just want to get more people into cooking.”
— Jamie Oliver x
How Jamie writes his recipes
Jamie is dyslexic, so he ‘wrote’ his first cookbook on a dictaphone – he never actually put pen to paper. These days, Jamie works with his editor, who writes down the recipes as he cooks them, and they later edit and finesse them together. Once he’s happy with the words, each recipe goes through three rounds of testing.
How we create recipes that work, every time
Every project is different at Jamie Oliver HQ, but there’s one thing that they all have in common: the recipes work, every time. We’re obsessed with creating flavour-packed dishes that you can cook with complete confidence, thanks to our robust testing process.
Our rigorous recipe testing process
Jamie is incredibly proud of how thoroughly his recipes are tested, and prides himself on being known for trusted, tasty, well-thought-out recipes that always work (and if they don’t, we’ll retest them until they do!).
Every time Jamie writes a new recipe for his books, it goes through at least three rounds of testing (yes, really!) to make sure that the method is completely failsafe.
Test 1 and Test 3 are completed by the wonderful in-house Food team, and Test 2 is where our brilliant office testers come in. These are people who work at Jamie Oliver HQ but aren’t trained chefs, and this is to make sure that our recipes work for EVERYONE – whether they’re a kitchen pro or just starting out. The entire process is managed by our stellar Editorial team, who meticulously ensure that every tweak is implemented, while also keeping Jamie up-to-date with any major changes.
Our Food team is headed up by the iconic Ginny Rolfe, who has worked with Jamie since The Naked Chef back in 1999! Ginny is the queen of recipe testing, and alongside her talented team she makes sure that all of Jamie’s recipes strike the delicate balance between taste, simplicity and nutrition.
Our high nutrition standards
If you know anything about Jamie, you’ll know that empowering people to cook healthy food is one of his top priorities. About 10 years ago, Jamie took that one step further and studied for a Royal Society of Public Health Level 4 Award in Nutrition at St Mary’s Twickenham University, under Professor Ann Kennedy. Since then, nutritional analysis has been embedded into every recipe he develops.
Our recipes aren't just tested within an inch of their life, we also develop them alongside brilliant Senior nutritionist Rozzie Batchelar. Rozzie’s job is to help Jamie boost his recipes with colour, excitement and nutrients, as well as bags of flavour:
“Food is fun, joyful and creative – it gives us energy and plays a crucial role in keeping our bodies healthy. My job is to make sure that Jamie can be super-creative, while also ensuring that all recipes meet our guidelines. Every book and project has a different brief, but 70% of the recipes should fit into our everyday food guidelines, meaning you can enjoy them any day of the week.
We also want to inspire a more sustainable way of eating, so 65% of all new recipes we create are either meat-free or meat-reduced (meaning they contain at least 30% less meat than a regular portion size).
Remember, a nutritious, varied and balanced diet and regular exercise are the keys to a healthier lifestyle. We don’t label foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ – there’s a place for everything – however, you can end up with a diet that doesn’t support good health if the balance isn’t quite right. We encourage an understanding of the difference between nutritious foods for everyday consumption and those to be enjoyed occasionally.”
— Rozzie Batchelar – Senior Nutritionist, RNutr (food)
