I’ve always been involved in cooking at home. I can’t remember not being,” says Buddy Oliver, the son of celebrity chef Jamie.
With his dad’s smile and the same cheeky charisma, it’s no wonder the 13-year-old YouTuber has become a rising star in the TV world and is now releasing his very first cookbook, Let’s Cook: Fun, Easy Recipes For Kids.
Following in his father’s culinary footsteps, Buddy has created the cookbook to inspire beginners with quirky recipes that are simple to make and follow, allowing readers to gain confidence in the kitchen.
“Cooking is one of my all-time favourite things to do – alongside rugby, of course!” says Buddy. “It’s really fun and a great skill to learn, so Let’s Cook is full of the things I love to cook and eat. The recipes aren’t fancy or hard to do. It’s just simple food done nicely.”
Jamie’s son – the second-youngest of the famed TV chef’s five children – has been cooking since the age of four.
He says his favourite recipe in the book is the easy meatballs and spaghetti because it “tastes so good”!
Buddy adds, “Although I’ve been creating content on my YouTube channel for quite a few years now, seeing my recipes come together as an actual book has been really cool. I’ve had the best time creating it. I hope that lots of other kids have the same amount of fun learning to cook from it.”
But when it comes to Jamie lending his expertise in the kitchen, Buddy doesn’t shy away from it.
“I love cooking fish with Dad,” he says. “We almost always have fish on a Saturday – quite often mackerel. I’ve learned to fillet it, and it feels really cool to be able to take a whole fish, prep it, cook it and serve it up for the rest of the family.”
His advice for aspiring chefs is, “Try not to think about it too much. Cooking can be unpredictable and it doesn’t always go to plan, but that doesn’t matter! Try to relax and treat it like a fun thing because it is.”
It’s safe to say we’ll be seeing more of Buddy – and there’s no doubt Jamie is his biggest supporter.
He says, “Buds, you’re a total legend! People always say kids need their parents, but I can honestly say it’s been the other way around.”
Let’s Cook ($50, Penguin) is on shelves at Paper Plus and other bookstores now.
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