Paperback re–issued with a brand new cover design.

Along with his perfect curry for a night in, Jamie gives you his version of some old favourites in Comfort Grub – try his Steak and Guinness Pie or indulge in his to–die–for pancakes! And in Quick Fixes he whips up some really simple, tasty dinners – just right for when you get home late from work. Plus theres a Kids Club chapter, all about catching kids attention and getting them interested in food. Its a starting point for children, to encourage them to have a go at other things in the book with their parents. Get them squashing tomatoes, pouring olive oil, pitting olives and making bread in no time – theyll love it. So, enjoy yourself, get stuck in … happy days!.

Great, fabulous. Theres some really hot tips and some scrumptious recipes that really hit the spot. Just enjoy yourself, get stuck in, happy days – Spectator.

Absolutely yummy. And who would have thought of serving pork fillet on a bed of rhubarb? It looks so scrumptious that I want to dash off and cook it now – Daily Telegraph.

The food is simply explained and superbly presented, and it makes you want to cook every dish – Daily Express.

Theres only one Jamie Oliver. Great to watch. Great to cook – Delia Smith

Extract

Gordon Bennett – last year was busy but this one has been doolally! Here I am in Cornwall writing this introduction, whilst being clicked at by photographers in bushes. Before you think it, Im not getting tired of cooking. I think Im even more obsessed! Its become a weekly occurrence to wake up after being bashed by my missus telling me that Ive been muttering in my sleep about sweet red onions and fields of herbs – dont remember it, but it wouldnt surprise me. It didnt stop her marrying me – yep, Mr and Mrs Oliver we are now – and I think she still likes me!

On the big day itself we were up at 5 a.m. cooking with my dad, Gennaro my London dad, my best man Bender the Aussie, and my chef mates from Montes. What a fantastic day. All I wanted to see was our best friends and family really tucking in and having a laugh, so for starters I had lots of different tapas and antipasti, fresh bread and big plates of Parma ham, bresaola and salamis from Italy. Little bowls of chutneys and sauces went with them and it worked. Everyone was tucking in, passing stuff around, and from the top table it was a fantastic sight – definitely the feast of the year. For the main course we had whole wild salmon stuffed with loadsa herbs and baked with a little white wine and olive oil. This was served with lemon and basil mayonnaise, boiled potatoes dug up from Dads garden that morning, and nice green salad. For dessert, the sweetest strawberries and some mascarpone cream. Lovely. So simple but perfect for a summer wedding.

Jools and my mum still act as a fantastic grounding for my cooking. After nine years of Jools hating everything about cooking I realized recently that I was being too honest about her attempts – no matter how I put it, she considered it a bit of a knockback, so I lied and said Its fantastic babe! to whatever she cooked for me. Since then she hasnt stopped cooking and has naturally got better and better. She now doesnt mind discussing the finer details and shes doing loadsa cooking at home. Everyone likes to feel that theyre good at something and cooking is no exception. I do find Joolss opinions massively helpful when writing a book which must be accessible to everyone because if she can do it, so can you. What Ive really enjoyed recently is cooking together – before, she used to heckle me from the stairs, which really used to wind me up. Now were quite a good team in the kitchen and it means we get things done quicker.

Over the last year or so, Ive done quite a bit of travelling which has been very inspiring on the old food front – Australia, New Zealand, America and Japan. Every country blew me away with a handful of genius dinners. There was the odd shocker, one of which came in the form of a bullocks bollocks in the US. And cod semen (disguised as chicken) in Japan – Its a delicacy over there and I was the guest of honour so I got the biggest portion. It tasted all right, but it just felt wrong.

I finished the year off by taking over as consultant chef at Montes in Sloane Street, London. It has been a real challenge and education to launch a restaurant from scratch, following in the footsteps of chef Alain Ducasse, and Im really happy with the young team that works for me in the kitchen, headed up by Bender the Aussie. And apart from that, were busy. Its been great to carry on writing seasonal menus using the best produce while still searching for the perfect restaurant site of my own.

People keep asking me if the success of the books and programmes has changed me and all my thoughts about food. Well, I think as a person I havent really changed apart from having to grow up a bit. But from the feedback Ive had in letters and e–mails to my website (www.jamieoliver.com) I definitely think Ive got more of an idea about what the average person wants to cook at home. Ive written Happy Days with this in mind.

I feel like this book has moved naturally on from the first two as its still focusing on reality: being able to buy the best ingredients you can. You know what I mean, simple, comforting, homely food is still what its all about. Foodwise, this year has been very creative for me and, as youll see in the book, Ive come up with loads of new recipes, as well as some really cool new chapters that Im very excited about. The most important one is Kids Club, which is all about getting parents to capture their kids imaginations to get them involved and interested in food. Then theres Quick Fixes, which is all about quick, tasty dinners – ideal for when you get in late after a hard days work. Comfort Grub is all your old favourites and some new ideas – to be eaten while snuggled up in front of the TV.

Im really proud of Happy Days – to me it feels more like a diary than a cookbook, as its my memories of the last couple of years and because of that its very eclectic, with little fusions and ideas from my travels. Ive included some classic recipes as well as putting a twist on others to reflect my personal taste. But, hey, thats what its all about.

Author:

Jamie Oliver

Shipping:

Shipping Details

ISBN:

9780141029467

Publish Date:

4/2008

Pages:

320

Publisher:

Penguin

Format:

Paperback

Availability:

Approximately 6 - 10 days
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