I have done some of the 30 minute meals in the time given , but I do have a Magimix food processor and some very sharp knives, so yes, it can be done.
The key thing is to get everything ready before hand... the knives, bowls , boards and pans you need ,,, water boining in the kettle ..oven getting up to heat ...this only takes a few moments and once these are ready you then start cooking.
If you follow the instructions in the book, then yes it can be done within the time frame.

But ... all that said , I have cooked from fresh  ingredients pretty mush every day for years and so I am used to cooking a nd am quite quick ( dispite the problems with my arm ) I am used to cooking , I rely heavily on my food prosessor .
My son is working through  the book and finds that yes they do take a few minutes more that is suggested in the book but the more he does , the more he is used to the concept and as a result he takes less time.

so... 30 minute meals... yes ... it can be done.

Last edited by mummza (Thu 10 May 12 4:01pm)

MsPablo wrote:

I'm pretty slow at prepping, but I like the recipes, menus and tips in this series even if I can't achieve what Jamie can in 30 minutes.  While the point of the show is this 30 minute timeframe, I really feel the ideas and recipes are more to the point and don't care at all about the prep time.

Clean up is always a factor, whether or not the meal took a long time to prepare, but I will put as much as possible in the dishwasher.  Our dishwasher just died!  I think MrP has ordered a new one already.

My condolances for your tragic loss.

Jamie is much faster than I am but I do like his 30 minute meal show.  Loved when he made the roast and yorkshire puddings.

Luvmegrub wrote:

I think there is a lot more variety of pre-prepared food available in England than we get here.  Some of the things he pulls out already prepared and vac-packed are amazing.  We do have bags of washed salad leaves, chopped pumpkin and tubs of mashed potato but it is expensive.

They are expensive here as well , I am always amazed when I see the variety of pre-peeled , pre-chopped things that are on some supermarket shelves , I dont buy these things .
( well I did buy a big bag of sliced mushrooms once as I had a lot of mushroom stroganoff to make .. but I dont make a habit of it !).

I was thinking about these bags of salad leaves that are very popular and I will admit that I do buy sometimes, the leaves must be rinsed in something which allows them to keep fresh for longer .
I do like the variety of little leaves that can be bought in the bags.