Does anyone else like Nigel Slater?
His recipes are simple but soooo tasty.

www.nigelslater.com

Wasn't he Neil the hippy in "The Young Ones"?

Thanks - you have inspired me! And what a beautiful website.

I thought the exact same thing and was quite positive all he could cook was lentils.
Neil of "The Young Ones" is Nigel Planer, I just looked it up.
But you probably already knew that...

That I did.

That was Nigel planner

Nigel "I have never eaten a boiled egg, but I have had a soldier or two" Slater?

Yes, by far the most well-thumbed recipe books in my collection. His Kitchen Diaries are very inspirational when the cupboard is bare, supermarkets are closed and the nearest takeaway is about 40km away...

sorry guys, I disagree with you all... Nigel Slater is a food writer who gathered up a few recipes during the years and now is cashing in on them... He's an entertaining writer, but if I want ideas on what to cook I'd rather getting them from someone who actually spend its time behind the stove and not behind the typewriter... same goes for Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall...

I do think that you are being unnecessarily harsh on Nigel. His site states:
'Author, columnist and broadcaster, he remains very much an amateur cook. He is not a chef. His food is understated, straightforward home cooking that is easy to accomplish and without a trace of what he affectionately calls 'celebrity cheffery' so I do not think that he is pretending to be something he isn't.

I just got the newest River Cafe offering. It's just wonderful Italian food with flair and authenticism that you won't really see even in "good" restaurants.

oh, I agree that he's not pretending... I doubt that he has any ground to ... My comment comes from what is (wink wink) known as "Chef's privilege"... few of us like people who piggy-back on our recipes for personal gain... but as I said, very entertaining writer...

Interesting that you should mention that River Cafe does good Italian food... I had what I think is the best Italian dinner I've ever had in an Italian restaurant called Zafferano in.... Marbella

I have no doubt. I think more than good, it's brave. There's some sort of meat even in the vegetables, making this is totally non-vegetarian cookery book. Cooool

I also have most of the river cafe cook books, also love the restaurant. News of Rose Gray's death was quite sad.

she was like a BritishAlice_Waters(whom i also love)

I see what you mean here, but I like the food he puts together - the kind I would do myself. Simple, colourful, contrasting tastes and often using what's available.
No making caramel baskets or using a blow torch.....

I find the guy himself a little bit "twee", but he is a good writer and presenter.

you should check out this book... essential cupboard

HFW does loads of cooking. I've tried some of it!

He regularly runs demonstrations and courses down at River Cottage HQ and there's normally a meal at the end. And it tastes bloody great!

He's a photo I took when I went:

I'm not really sure what your point is about him being a food writer. Have you read his autobiography? He's had a passion for food since he was a child. He has a talent for writing about food but I don't think that takes away from his cooking talents. I've loved his books ever since I read Real Good Food because he absolutely loves food and I could relate to so many of the things he says about it. While so many chefs/cooks give you a recipe and a few words, he'll talk about the sticky bits left in the pan or the bits that ooze or crunch! For him it's not about impressing the audience but about getting across how much pleasure food is. He's not afraid to 'lick the beaters'! He'll talk about Valrhona chocolate but he'll also admit that there are times when only a bar of Cadburys will hit the mark.

I don't think he comes over that well on TV but he does come across as genuine.

Does anyone know what is it with Gary Rhodes and that fake posh accent? I enjoy watching him cook but the accent is so irritating - I wonder why he had to change it?

guess i touched a bit of a nerve here...

Nigel Slater, just being passionate about food is not enough for me to make me look at his recipes with anything more than passing interest. He's not doing anything that hasn't been done before or combine ingredients that used to be alien to each other. Let's agree to disagree on Nigel, shall we? he's still a very entertaining read...

HFW I somehow would like to see the definition of "loads of cooking".

I'm not looking for a fight, this is my opinion

BTW, Gary doesn't have a posh accent, he just speaks slowly...