Jamie Oliver is an Essex boy made good. He is a chef with his own TV series, nothing unusual about that, but he does have something different to the many other “telly chefs� out there. He is an absolute natural and apart from his catchy slang and his looks that seem to drive the ladies wild, he can cook. Even more astonishing is the fact that he enjoys cooking at home. I can attest from living with a chef once that they never cook at home! He is not called The Naked Chef because he likes to cook naked, he is called this because he likes to break down recipes to the bare essentials, making them simple while still being tasty pukka!

For this first series, Jamie is cooking for many different reasons in his spare time, away from his job as a chef in a posh French restaurant in London. A camera crew is there in his own house while he prepares anything from bacon sandwiches (bacon sarnies) to a huge meal for his birthday party. The series consists of six episodes running for just under 30 minutes each, with a bonus Christmas episode. Each episode has a self-explanatory title and I have also included the dishes prepared...

Episode listing:

Each episode is very enjoyable and very addictive. The selection of dishes prepared is both varied and interesting and the enthusiasm of the chef is contagious. He does have favourite ingredients for recipes such as certain herbs or anchovies, but he is quick to point out that alternatives can be used and that he simply cooks food to suit his own tastes. He also has a tendency to prepare food from scratch, making his own bread and pasta and showing the viewer how. Many of his recipes incorporate rough measurements of ingredients and are a bit hit and miss, but they seem to be the type of recipes that require trial and error 'til you get them how you want them, this also works to make the dishes different every time.

With a total running time of 201:29, this is a very good series supplied on a single disc, making it great value for money. The choice is also there on the main menu to “select a dish� which allows the viewer to single out particular segments without having to watch the whole episode. Whether you like cooking, like Jamie Oliver or simply like entertaining and different television shows, then this is well worth a look - it’s truly pukka!

Presented in full frame and therefore not 16x9 enhanced, this transfer is very good. Picture is sharp throughout with reasonable detail. Aliasing occurs, as does the odd instance of pixelisation, but neither are too much of a hindrance. There are no subtitles supplied as stated on the case, but these are not really needed. Considering this looks like it was filmed with a Handycam and does suffer somewhat from NYPD Blue movement, the overall quality is very good. No layer change was detected so the assumption is made that it was well placed between episodes.

Audio supplied is a solitary English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track. This is more than sufficient for this dialogue driven series and suffers no problems. There are no issues with audio synch and very little music is used apart from during the opening credits, therefore it's not too taxing on your sound equipment. Overall the audio does a great job without needing to be too outstanding.

There are no extras supplied with this release, although the final episode is billed as a bonus episode on the case.

Overall this is a very enjoyable series from a very enjoyable chef. His style of cooking and his personality are very addictive, so the attraction for those not interested in cooking shows is also met. The recipes are reasonably simple, but it’s the style in which they are shown that is the true reason for the success of this series. Check it out!