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Television

05th Nov 2020

James May’s guide to faking it in the kitchen

Wil Jones

“Tinned meat is a bit like the airbag in your car. You don’t really want to see it, but it’s nice to know it’s there.”

Jamie Oliver. Gordon Ramsay. Ainsley Harriott. And now there is a new name to add to that list: James May.

Ok, The Grand Tour star is probably not someone you would think of when it comes to celebrity chefs. But Amazon has given him his own cooking show.

He can’t really cook much, but that is kind of the point. It is not about these big extravagant dishes you will never make, it is about how normal people can make something rather good with a little bit of effort, a dash of know-how, and a pinch of cheating.

Ahead of the show, we caught up with James and got him to give us his top tips for pretending you know what you are doing in the kitchen, when in actuality, you don’t have a clue.

 

The official synopsis reads:

“James May a.k.a Captain Slow is set to return to Prime Video with his sophomore solo instalment, this time in the format of a brand-new cookery series, James May: Oh Cook. There’s just one thing we should mention…”
James May is not a chef. But that’s the whole point: you don’t need to be a brilliant cook to make delicious food. Transporting us to the Far East, the Med, and the local pub – all from the comfort of a home economist’s kitchen – he’ll knock up delicious recipes that you can actually make yourself, with ingredients you can actually buy. And all without the usual television cooking format trickery.”

James May: Oh Cook launches on Amazon Prime Video on Friday 13th November 2020. Oh Cook! 60 Easy Recipes that Any Idiot Can Make is out now.