Don't get me wrong now.. I love Jamie Oliver ! I have a book called the Naked Chef...actually "The Naked Chef,An Aphrodisiac Cookbook" Copywrite 1971 By Billie Young. Library of Congress Catalog Congress Card #LC 70-167722. Is the use of this name by Jamie ethical and legal ? I asked this a few years ago and never received an answer. I bought this book at a yard sale. I don't think Jamie was even in this world when this was written. It clearly states that "no part of this book can be reproduced or written without the written permission. Did you have to obtain permission ? or did this just slip by ? I have a few ... maybe 550 cookbooks or so and thought that this was a first for me. . How to go about catagorizing her book and Jamie's.

I don't know if his tongue is too fat for his mouth or what the problem is, but if you didn't have to hear him talk in his near lisp voice, this show might be tolerable. That, coupled with the fact that the American ear often has trouble understanding British accents anyway, sometimes makes this show irritating. Some of the dishes are good, but he does often work at such a frenzied pace that it becomes an overload to try and keep up with what's going on. Can be somewhat entertaining at times. For awhile you could occasionally catch it airing on the Food Network, but the last time I saw it was at about 4:00 in the morning during an insomniac moment. I think it's been relegated to a late night time slot, right before the infomercials begin.

Much has been made of Jamie Oliver, and his little cooking show, on the BBC in Britain, and the Food Network in the US. It's real. It takes place in a real kitchen in a real London apartment. It's real time, instead of the usual "here's one I made earlier" staged production. And yes, with hand-held cameras, there is a certain amount of jerking around. But this should not be new to American audiences; Woody Allen has been doing this for years, and nobody finds him irritating. (Okay, many people find him irritating, but not me.)The bottom line is that this show is different from other American TV cooking shows, and in fairness, it is quite a shift from most BBC cooking shows. It's supposed to be. Once you get used to it differences, and focus on the food, you will surely enjoy this one as much as I do. The recipes are flexibile, simple to follow, and really work. And in a montage at the end of every show, wherein Jamie's friends, relatives, and other hangers on enjoy Jamie's creations, he demonstrates that food, despite its nutritional value, is also a helluva lot of fun.

Jamie Oliver presents the recipes that he is using in a way that makes them easy to follow. The food is always great too. What is so good about this show is that we are not watching a professional chef make food that we as "normal" cooks, would not be able to make. Jamie actually puts a plot to his shows, which usually consists of him making food for a party or for friends. But hey, when we honestly get in the kitchen and really start cooking, those are the two main reasons we start cooking in the first place. So, if you like to watch cooking shows and you get the FOOD NETWORK, then turn this show on!