Is Jamie the busiest man in Britain?

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Posted at 12:02PM, 12 March 2009 by Jessica Gunn - Features editor - olive magazine

Hot on the heels of multiple openings of Jamie's Italian (affordable Italian food, no bookings) in Oxford, Bath and Kingston (Brighton opens imminently), a tie-in with Scandic Hotels, a US-based TV series scheduled for later this year, plus accompanying book, a new bookazine, and a new range of designery kitchenware called JME, comes yet another launch - Recipease.

Team Jamie describe Recipease as 'a new food and kitchen shop where anyone can learn to cook and make great food.' It opened its doors to the public on 26 Feb, but I was lucky enough to attend a sneak preview in Battersea earlier in the month.

Remarkably, Jamie himself was in attendance at the launch, along with the local mayor, police, members of Team Jamie and a whole lot of others. The place was packed, champagne was flowing and samplers of the kind of food that's going to be on offer were circulating - I tried a paneer curry (nice, not incredible) and slices of pizza (really very good).

Jamie admitted that Recipease was 'probably the riskiest thing I've ever done - and at the darkest time.'

Jamie made a speech where he admitted that Recipease was 'probably the riskiest thing I've ever done - and at the darkest time.' Which was met with loud laughter and then maybe a tiny bit of an awkward silence.

So what is Recipease? Jamie told us that it's 'something that's never been done before.' Which it sort of is. Walking through the bright pink shop-front you enter a large, stylish space with shelves stacked with JME kitchenware, giant jars of jam and chutneys, wine racks, fresh breads and pastries, coolers packed with ready-made dishes - stone floors, lots of wood, handwritten labelling.

Further inside is the crux of the project - a large cooking area where customers are invited to try their hand at making a dish under the direction of the Recipease food team (book ahead). It's not scratch cooking - everything comes pre-chopped and measured - you just put it all together, take it home and cook it. You pay only for the ingredients you use and your finished product is cheaper than the pre-prepared versions available in the chiller cabinets at the front. You can also drop in and make one of a couple of 'dishes of the day' - pizza, curry - that kind of thing.

Will it work? Jamie says he wants to get the schools and colleges in and there's no doubt that this would be a brilliant place to assuage any cooking fears before moving on to the real thing. My concern would be that the pricing (fantastic fish pie £7.95 for two; perfect pork en croute £8.95 for two) and rather swish image might alienate the concept from the market for which it's most intended.

Or maybe it's all just too much Jamie? You tell me - is Jamie our food saviour, enriching our lives from every feasible angle, or is he a brand over-exposed and over-stretched which frankly, you've had enough of?

Comments

Becks

12 March 2009, 5:33PM
Becks

Love Jamie as I do (and I do), I think this whole go-to-a-shop-and-cook-your-dinner thing is all a bit Chelsea housewife. I just can't see the sort of people Jamie's aiming at going in and paying Â£9 to cook their own pork en croute for two. If he can get schoolkids coming then fantastic, but again, the pricing is inevitably going to make it elitist. Same thing with his Ministry of Food cookbook - why make it hardback and Â£30 when he could have laminated photocopies and sold them for a fraction...and they'd have been wipe clean too!

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Aedara

12 March 2009, 8:10PM
Aedara

Jamie Olivers food is fine and I have several of his cook books but his 'I'm here to save the planet from bad cooking' attitude gets on my nerves. Not everyone has the inclination to splash out their cash for a cooked from scratch meal full of organic best quality (and I must say rather numerous) ingredients every day. Maybe once a week, maybe even twice but its not everyday cooking and thats just how its going to be unfortunatly. I don't think he needs to cast himself as a great food guru, if I was him I'd stick to being a good chef and not start to get too preachy. People don't like being preached at. Maybe others disagree.

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James

12 March 2009, 8:21PM
James

There's always someone who does well in a down-turn they say. At least there's no shortage of empty shops/ restaurants for him to take over.... I was reading about the recip-easy-peasy style place in New York about 3 years ago where it started. One step ahead really - as restaurant spend goes down, instead you get them in to cook for themselves - just make it uber-easy. Staying in is the new going out - and you're not being fleeced on wine. I was being asked to do cookery lessons by three different people and their legions of friends a few months ago for simple home-cooking - there's definitely a market at the moment - they want the homemade taste without the hassle or restaurant style cost. Too much Jamie? There's probably 3 cooks people really trust when they want simple things that work - him, Delia and Nigella. If they get more people cooking that's only a good thing. Pukka.

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Belit

14 March 2009, 7:24AM
Belit

Hmmm. I really like Jamie, I do. I have lots of his cookbooks and actually use them frequently. Both for recipes and for general inspiration. He can come across as a bit "too much" I guess, what with his saviour efforts and best organic ingredients, but on the other hands he's right. The British/Western diet and cooking at home tradition is in an appalling state, and that is a general health problem, as well as a cultural tragedy and bad news for family life. And for my own part I must say I believe him. I think he's genuine. I believe he does it because he really cares, not to sell his stuff. Then if that makes him a good living I think that's fine. Being a good businessman doesn't mean you're a bad person or a sneaky cheat, you know. So Jamie - I'm with you!

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Andy Lynes

16 March 2009, 4:11PM
Andy Lynes

I pressed my nose to the window of his new Brighton restaurant Jamie's Italian (no he's not, he's from Essex) which opens next week. Looks very nice I have to say. There's a pasta machine in the window which, judging by the dozen huge catering sized bags of pasta flour next to it is not just for show. Although Brighton has more Italian restaurants than the whole of Italy put together (at least that's how it seems sometimes) there are none of particular note, so I'm really quite excited.

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Hel - Brit in Beijing

23 March 2009, 2:40AM
Hel - Brit in Beijing

I should say first that I applaud his work on school food, encouraging people to cook, fifteen, animal welfare. Jamie drives me bonkers however. I hate his superlative laden writing and speech. Everything is "amazing" and he writes like he was the first person to invent particular recipes. What irritates me even more is that the recipes in the only book of his I own (Jamie at Home?) are brilliant. Grrrr...

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Hel - Brit in Beijing

23 March 2009, 2:45AM
Hel - Brit in Beijing

Oh and this has been done before. It's primarily an import from the US and sadly I can't remember the name of the company that does this in the UK but they also do this follow the instructions, make a meal with pre prepared ingredients, take home and cook or freeze thing.

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Dawnofthejed

23 March 2009, 1:50PM
Dawnofthejed

It'll be interesting to see how Jamie gets on trying to crack the U.S market.... http://dawnofthejed.com/http:/dawnofthejed.com/2009/03/20/jamies-death-row-diets/

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boo

23 March 2009, 10:12PM
boo

jamie i applaud for at least trying to encourage people to cook instead of buying into the multi billion fast food industry. even if not all his ideas work at least someone is willing to try, more than can be said for ronald mcdonald!

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Mr Steven Gerrard

24 March 2009, 9:22PM
Mr Steven Gerrard

jamie--a bumfluff compared to me i am masterchef/gordon ramsay........my cooking has biblical proportions

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lili

31 October 2009, 6:38AM
lili

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