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Welcome to What’s Cooking, Metro’s brand new food series where we find out exactly what’s going on behind the scenes in the nation’s kitchens.
From firefighters to sex workers — and even a few famous faces along the way — we’ll rifle through cupboards, fridges and secret snack stashes to find out what people really like to eat in the comfort of their own home.
We’re kicking off with a very special first guest, celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver.
Dad-of-five Jamie shared his top tips for the weekly grocery shop as well as which branded items he thinks are worth splashing out on.
And if you’ve ever wondered if the 49-year-old enjoys a cheeky Maccies from time to time, we’ve got the answer…
First things first, tell us a secret. What’s your ultimate guilty pleasure snack?
If I have a little drink of an evening, like a glass of single malt whisky, there’s a dirty snack I have with it.
I take some amazing cheddar — Pitchfork or Westcombe — and I slice it up on a board. Then I get some Hula Hoops, and for me it has to be Salt & Vinegar flavour. You take the round receptacle, and you have to penetrate the cheese with it to create what inevitably will be a little mouthful of pure, decadent filth.
Crunchy, soft, silky, umami… it’s so right, but so wrong at the same time.
You can get yourself some cheap cheese, and it’ll work just fine, but I quite like the juxtaposition of good, British farmhouse cheese, which you can get in lovely delis and posh supermarkets, and Hula Hoops.
Just make sure you get the regular Hula Hoops, not the flashy new big ones — the crisps need to be small and firm, not large and airy, in order to cut through the cheese.
What’s one storecupboard item you can’t live without?
People will be shocked and horrified to discover I have tinned new potatoes. Some think it’s awful, but they’re super delicious. No boiling needed, you can literally turn them into a salad, or put them in a pan and have them hot and crispy in four minutes. You can mash them, smash them, all those kinds of things. So for busy people, this is really useful.
I also keep a tin of Ambrosia custard in the cupboard. I prefer this to posh, homemade custard. It’s retro.
Tell us about one item you always have in your fridge?
I pretty much always have a roll of filo pastry and puff pastry — store bought, not homemade.
Filo pastry is almost impossible to make if you’re a normal person, and puff pastry is the same. Having them in the fridge or freezer is a really good hack, you can literally put a little puff pastry lid on top of a dish and it instantly looks super posh.
I wouldn’t have ready-made shortcrust pastry in the fridge though, I would never buy it. I’d make my own.
You’ll also find gochujang in my fridge, which is a spicy fermented chili paste. It’s like the flavour bomb of the year. It’s unbelievable rubbed over a chicken, some fish, or even shredded vegetables.
And what do you always keep in your freezer?
I think the freezer is probably the most underrated part of the kitchen. Frozen chillies are a major staple in my freezer as these are amazing grated over a salad or pasta.
Name one ingredient you’ll always be willing to splurge on?
Honestly, even when I was super skint, I would prioritise decent meat over cheap, horrible meat. I know it’s a slightly pretentious thing to say, but when you love cooking and when you love farming, that’s the thing to invest in.
I’d rather eat meat less or get cheaper cuts, but better quality, than just buy cheap, cheap, cheap stuff, because I know too much.
And one kitchen staple that’s not worth splashing the cash on?
Tomato ketchup. I’m a massive fan of Heinz Ketchup, I’ll say that. But the own-brand supermarket ketchups are really, really good and technically better for you, because they have less sugar – and if you have less sugar you have more tomatoes, so you actually get more tomatoes for your money.
Do you ever get a cheeky Maccies?
I’ve got nothing against it, but I don’t buy it personally. If I want a burger, I’ll just make it – you can do it yourself better, cheaper, quicker and tastier.
Also could you imagine Jamie Oliver going to McDonald’s?! It would be such a nightmare.
Is there anything you’ll never eat?
In theory I should eat anything, but I think that I wouldn’t be able to eat dog. That’s very British of me, but I don’t think I could do it.
What’s the best thing you can cook in a microwave, that you can’t do in an oven or air fyer?
People slag off microwaves all the time, but they’re they’re super popular. I don’t use mine loads, usually it’s to take ice cream that’s too hard to scoop and just soften it a little bit. But they make really good, delicious steamed puddings. Super quick, just 40 seconds in a little cup.
You can also take uncooked poppadoms that you buy from the supermarket and pop them in the microwave on full whack for 35 seconds, so you don’t have to deep fry them.
Any game-changing cooking tips to share?
You can create an amazing dish using a frozen meal. This is a plug, but I’ve developed a range of frozen meals, which I’m really proud of, using a really clean deck of ingredients. There are a lot of options – from classic lasagna to chicken tikka masala and beef bourguignon, and you can use these in so many ways.
Take the bourguignon, you could use it as a pie base and top with some puff pastry, or as a lovely pasta sauce because it’s got onions, red wine and herbs in, plus lots of veggies. Get it nice and hot in the oven, in a pan or on the microwave, then stir it into your favourite pasta and top with grated parmesan. This takes it from a stew to a really unbelievable Italian-style ragù.
And finally… what’s been cooking in your kitchen most recently?
It’s the same dance every night, I go home and it’s, ‘Hi Jules, how’re you doing babe, what do you feel like?’ and we go round in circles for about 10 minutes and then eventually come up with something for dinner.
Normally when I get home it’s about 8pm, so it has to be something that I can knock out in 15 to 20 minutes. Last night we had some nice roasted fish, she wanted roasted chips, and I did some steamed veggies and a little salad.
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