Jamie’s Cook-Ahead Christmas review – at last, he moves beyond the bish-bash-bosh!

There is still a scattering of ‘epics’ and ‘happy days’ but this Christmas, a newer, altogether calmer Jamie has entered his elder statesman era – and he’s all the better for it

I last watched Jamie Oliver earlier this year, presenting a documentary about dyslexia – a condition he has and which, undiagnosed, caused him much suffering at school and in his early life – which was very good. I last watched Jamie Oliver cooking in Jamie Oliver’s Air Fryer Meals – a two-parter sponsored by Tefal – which was very bad.

Now he is back, with Jamie’s Cook-Ahead Christmas. He shows us a potato and fennel gratin that can be served au naturel or – with a last-minute pastry envelope and a few carvings and pinchings that would see me pulverise the whole thing into a catastrophe, but which anyone who reaches the threshold of “minimally coordinated human” should totally do – as a beautiful ruched pie. You can make and freeze that now and reheat it on Christmas Day. I would fear for such a process with a mixture of potato, cream and pastry, but I am a culinary berk and Jamie is not, so listen to him not me.

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