• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Snapchat
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

MsMarmiteLover

  • Food
    • Recipes
    • Vegetarian
    • Vegan
  • Travel
    • France
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • UK
  • Wine
  • Gardens
  • Supperclubs/Events
  • About
    • Published Articles
    • Books
  • Shop
    • Cart

Bill Granger's 'Feed me now'

May 6, 2009 6 Comments Filed Under: Food, Recipes, Uncategorized

A rare opportunity to see the top of Bill Granger’s head in this cover shot.
I first noticed Bill Granger channel flipping. I saw this Australian bloke making muesli in his oven. Thick I might be but it had never occurred to me that I could make my own muesli before that. I was gripped by how easy he made it all look.
An Australian friend told me Bill Granger just started with a little shack by the beach, a couple of tables, cooking breakfast. The good word spread …
His book ‘Feed me now’ is geared towards working families wanting to make fresh healthy dishes which don’t take too long to prepare when you’ve got in from work and you are so knackered all you want to do is reach for the deep freeze and bung a few fish fingers in the oven. Or boil a kettle and give the kids Pot Noodles even. (It’s not unknown in my house, lemme tell ya. My only defense is that I will put a few spring onions on top, a few slices of tofu, fresh coriander leaves and a squeeze of lime).
After ripping out all the boring meat pages I got stuck in. Breakfast remains a speciality, with muesli and hot cake recipes. 
One thing I did notice is that many of his photographs crop the top of his head out. I think it’s because Bill is thinning a little on top. I don’t blame him. When I have a book out, I expect some heavy photo-shopping believe me!
But really, what’s wrong with baldness? I think Bill should take a leaf out of fellow antipodean Clive James’ book and be an ‘own-up baldie’.
The photographs are beautifully shot and nicely styled although quite girly for a male chef, with Cath Kidston type fabrics and Bill in a pale pink T-shirt.
But you do get to see Bill Granger cooking. I looked at a recent book by Gordon Ramsey. Ramsey is never even photographed in the same room as the food, let alone cooking it. I got the feeling that he had just put his name to a recipe book and had little to do with devising the recipes. There were all these beef-cake shots of Ramsey grinning, ruffling his hands through his hair, looking off-camera, pseudo-casual, leaning against a fence. The publishers clearly think he’s some kind of model from GQ mag.
Back to Bill… reading this book I really think his easy style works best on TV. The prose is a bit vacuous and heavy on the ‘I live a perfect lifestyle in my gorgeous kitchen with my Boden catalogue family and we all spend our whole time smiling winsomely’ shtick. Nice to have a little grit with your oysters…
I like the fact that he’s a domestic cook. That ‘do-ability’ shines through in his recipes. You feel anybody could have a go at ‘miso fish’ and his version of ‘tiramisu’. I’m not sure about the ‘pumpkin and grape’ salad. I don’t really hold with fruit in savoury salads ever since I slavishly followed a Waitrose (one of those free cards) peach and feta salad recipe and it was fucking awful. 
The book is published by Quadrille and costs about a tenner. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Feed-Me-Now-Bill-Granger/dp/1844007065

Recent posts

Discovering fairytale Saxony in Germany

January 25, 2023

Fake meat taste test for Veganuary

January 8, 2023

A round-up of my favourite travel destinations of 2022

January 1, 2023

Previous Post: « The Crown pub, Victoria Park
Next Post: Brown bottom »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gourmet Chick

    May 6, 2009 at 4:51 pm

    Great review – Bill Granger does Macleans toothpaste ads in Australia because he has such shiny white teeth!

    Reply
  2. Food Urchin

    May 6, 2009 at 4:52 pm

    That's it, whenever I have my photo taken, I'm going to say "can you crop the top of my head out the picture please?"

    Sounds like a good book, like the family-orientated angle, could be useful.

    Reply
  3. MsMarmitelover

    May 6, 2009 at 4:56 pm

    It's always flattering…David Bailey invented the eyeball shot which crops out the top of the had and focuses just on the features.
    GC: he does have amazingly white teeth doesn't he?

    Reply
  4. neil

    May 10, 2009 at 6:42 pm

    Something about him makes me feel uncomfortable. He's a bit to nice and I reckon he might be a Cylon or something.

    I think that's just me though.

    Reply
  5. GoodmanWrites

    May 15, 2009 at 12:06 pm

    I can make an exception to the fruit in savoury salads thing with mango. But I can make exceptions to most things with mango. Bill's breakfasts are fabulous (I had the sweetcorn fritters at his restaurant in Sydney – mmm), but I dislike his smarmy smiles, and the way he has to take a break from his cooking to do them.

    Reply
  6. Andy Lynes

    May 25, 2009 at 9:50 pm

    I've interviewed Bill twice and he just lights up when he talks about food and restaurants. No question he's selling a lifestyle but from my limited experience, there's a genuine passion (an overused word I know but in this case warrented I think) behind it all. On both occasions I've spoken to him, his PR minders have had to call time because it seems he'd just talk forever if they'd let him. I bet he'd be great company down the pub.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

This is my food and travel blog, with recipes, reviews and travel stories. I also stray into politics, feminism, gardening.

Subscribe to my mailing list

msmarmitelover

Kerstin Rodgers/MsMarmiteLover
Naples at Christmas- discovering piennolo di vesuv Naples at Christmas- discovering piennolo di vesuvio,the Christmas 🍅, which lasts up to a year fresh. It’s given boxed as gifts around Christmas being the only local fresh tomato available. It dresses all the Christmas pizzas and pastas. It’s grown on volcanic Vesuvius soil and sparsely watered. As a result it has thick skins, and a sweet intense flavour. #tomatoes #italy #naples
Not cooking much at the moment due to a thick laye Not cooking much at the moment due to a thick layer of dust over my kitchen. This will be my dining room/photography studio. Done on a whim.#unplanneddemolition
Another picture of my granddaughter Ophelia in a n Another picture of my granddaughter Ophelia in a nest of apricot tulle (found at portobello market). Isn’t she lovely? #granfluencer
Broccoli Stilton soup. This freezing week is defin Broccoli Stilton soup. This freezing week is definitely a week for soups. My friend @jimfrommanc is staying & needs his hot lunch.
Cheese on toast with crushed chilli 🌶️ in Ven Cheese on toast with crushed chilli 🌶️ in Venice the fresh food market sells bouquets of colourful chillies. I’ve still got mine, drying in an enamel jug. #travelandfood
The Christmas tomato or piennolo di vesuvio. Read The Christmas tomato or piennolo di vesuvio. Read all about it: https://msmarmitelover.com/2022/12/christmas-in-naples.html  Got a couple of bunches hanging in my kitchen. #naples #campania #tomatoes🍅 #travelphotography
Opheliagram. This morning I photographed her in an Opheliagram. This morning I photographed her in an Italian outfit I bought in Naples on a William Morris playmat which looks great and is practical for tummy time. So many things are different about parenting now. Parents use apps to track feeding, pooing, weeing etc. You don’t bathe them anymore for the first few weeks because you want to leave the vernix ( the white waxy stuff they are covered in at birth) on their skin as long as possible. Nappies now have a line on them that turns blue if they’ve done a pee. White noise apps to help them sleep. New technology guides new parents. As well as ancient probably prehistoric customs being rediscovered. #granfluencer #grandaughter I’ve tagged in @siennamarla and @jamescalmus as the authors of this baby.
I made two dishes from one pack of white beans las I made two dishes from one pack of white beans last night. Soak, then cook with 2 stock cubes, water & a fan of bay leaves. When soft & cooked, scoop some into a soup bowl with plenty of stock, add white wine, fresh basil and or a scoop of pesto and a squeeze of lemon for soupe au pistou. Garnish with Parmesan. Today I cooked the pot until the liquid had almost disappeared and added a block of feta. I baked this in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, added @pomoragoodfood new olive oil, salt and pepper for a gigantes plaki (but with smaller beans). Eat more beans!
What to make when you have lots of leftover egg yo What to make when you have lots of leftover egg yolks after making a pavlova? Zabaglione, that classic Italian trattoria dessert made from egg yolks, sugar & tons of masala sweet wine. Whisk it up over a bain-marie or be a bit cheaty & add a teaspoon of cornflour. Strong wrists needed. #italianfood #christmasdesserts #leftovers #cooksmart
The unpackaged vegan meats. My panel of 4 ( from c The unpackaged vegan meats. My panel of 4 ( from carnivore, to recent vegetarian, to long-time vegetarian to never eaten meat (my daughter)) tasted 18. It was quite a bushtucker trial. Carnivores & vegetarians liked very different things. Full report in next weeks @hamandhigh #veganuary #vegan #vegetarian #tastetest #fakemeat #plantbasedmeat
Fake meatathon tasting taking place as my veganuar Fake meatathon tasting taking place as my veganuary column for @hamandhigh So many companies doing this now. As a longtime vegetarian I don’t want anything that tastes too much like meat. But new vegetarians and vegans may want something that tastes close as damnit to meat in order to stave off cravings? Which category are you in? Have you any favourites or dislikes? Is this just another example of ultra-processed food? Let me know in the comments #vegan #vegetarian #meatfree #veganuary
Pasta buselli al cedro. Cedro or citron is a fragr Pasta buselli al cedro. Cedro or citron is a fragrant citrus & one of the founding citrus (along with pomelo and mandarin) that created all the other citrus fruits you know about. Usually candied, it is also used in this unusual neopolitan recipe in which you soak the zest in the pasta water overnight before cooking. Post up on the blog later today. Board a Xmas present from @siennamarla #pasta #naples #cedro #citrus
My london garden ce matin My london garden ce matin
My Sacher Torte (1 word or 2?) with a difference- My Sacher Torte (1 word or 2?) with a difference- bergamot marmalade in the middle. In the @hamandhigh this week. It’s bloody delicious. #chocolatecake #feelaustria #untoldstories #vienna #sachertorte
These are Mela Annurca apples, ‘mel’anurca’ These are Mela Annurca apples, ‘mel’anurca’ in Neapolitan dialect. They are a Christmas apple, in season now. I bought this little model basket of apples in San Gregorio di Armenia street in Naples where every year neopolitans buy something to add to their ‘presepe’ or nativity scene. Often scenes from markets to add to the expensive, anything from 500 euros to 5000 euros nativity crèches. Around Christmas this street is packed (watch out for pickpockets) with locals and tourist picking out their addition to the scene. Melanurca apples are picked in September then laid on the ground to ripen, turning them every day by hand, to ensure all sides transform from a yellow green into a Wicked Witch red. They are very healthy, particularly for your hair, according to scientists at the university of Naples. #naples #neopolitanchristmas #melanurca  #food #travel #sangregorioarmeno #presepenapoletano #nativityscenes
The Christmas tomato 🍅 or piennolo di vesuvio, The Christmas tomato 🍅 or piennolo di vesuvio, a local tomato that is sold around Christmas in Naples. It is grown with very little irrigation and lasts fresh up to a year. Hence it is used for tomato based Christmas dishes. This tomato has a thick skin and is really intense in flavour. It hangs outside grocers, on balconies, in kitchens, having been braided by ladies into bunches of 1.5 kilos. Each costs 15 euros. I went to visit the farmers and the ladies skilfully tying the tomatoes into clusters, using the vines to fasten them, like cherries. Boxed, these are given as gifts. Reel on the way! #naples #christmas #tomatoes #travel #food
Travel: how I pack. I choose one colour as well as Travel: how I pack. I choose one colour as well as black and white and stick to that palette. For Sicily & Naples I’m doing red, white & black. I’ve bought @coti_vision red glasses chain, a red beret & a black one, a pair of red @snagtights & a black pair, a red hair clasp, a red & white pair of shoes (25 euros, leather from Naples), a red & white dress, a black & white striped dress, and so on. Do you roll? Do you flatten & spread? Do you fold? How do you pack? A few days before I leave I leave my suitcase open in my bedroom and every time I think of something I need to take I sling it in there. ( like adaptors) Last thing is wash bag ( I have a hanging one which is useful) and coat (red for this trip). Basically I colour code my life. When I did the Camino everything was blue & yellow, the colours of the Camino. When I went to Ireland I took all my green clothes ( I don’t have many). If I go on a boat trip I pack blue and white. #packing #colourcoding #travel #mysuitcase
Ruota di pesce spada. A glorious oven baked Sicili Ruota di pesce spada. A glorious oven baked Sicilian fish dish, baked on onions, studded with garlic cloves wrapped in mint leaves, then more onions, capers, olives, oregano & rosemary. Use a thick central slice of swordfish (where can I get that in london?). I’m tasting grillo & Nero d’avola wines @tenutorapitala about an hour inland from Palermo. The owner is the last count Bernard de La gatinais. He has 3 daughters. He’s French (Brittany) and Sicilian. He spoke about how difficult it has been for wine growers since lockdown- so many restaurants closed. Now they are grappling with high energy & fuel costs. ##winesofsicilia #siciliaDOC #wine #travel #sicily
I love Venice. I love Maneskin. I love Italy. I lo I love Venice. I love Maneskin. I love Italy. I love boats and water. #biennalearte2022
London cure smoked salmon from @formanandfield wit London cure smoked salmon from @formanandfield with mikawa citrus (cross between mandarin & pomelo) and home pickled green peppercorns on a plate I bought in minori Italy. #londonfood #citrus #sundaylunch
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Archives

Copyright © 2023 msmarmitelover