Jamie Cooks Spring marks the beginning of a special new series with a seasonal twist on Channel 4.
Spring is the first installment in the Jamie Cooks series, a four-part year-long series that celebrates the best of sustainable, seasonal produce and how to cook it.
Here’s everything we know about Jamie Cooks Spring…
Update September 2024: Please note Jamie Cooks Spring is now titled Jamie: What to Eat This Week - Spring on channel4.com.
Jamie Cooks Spring — release date
Jamie Cooks Spring starts on Monday, April 29 at 8pm on Channel 4. The series will air weekly and all three episodes will be available for catch up on Channel 4's streaming platform after it has aired.
Jamie Cooks Spring premise
Jamie Cooks… is an extended series split into four seasonal parts of three hour-long episodes for Spring, Summer and Autumn and two-hour long episodes for Winter, taking viewers through the year via fresh produce and delicious dishes. The four series are titled Jamie Cooks Spring, Jamie Cooks Summer, Jamie Cooks Autumn, and Jamie Cooks Winter.
With every season, Jamie will celebrate the joy of that time of year, as he creates inspiring recipes using ingredients that are in season and can be enjoyed at home – whether you have a veg patch, pots on the windowsill, or are simply buying produce from the supermarket or farmer’s market.
With the help of growing and gardening expert Chloe Carter, Jamie and experts walk us through the rhythm of British seasonal fruit and veg and celebrate the best our country has to offer.
Jamie Cooks Spring dishes…
On the menu are hot and sour rhubarb pork noodles, Jersey royals and wild garlic with stuffed roast salmon, creamy rice pudding with the quickest strawberry jam, Autumnal savoy cabbage farfalle and Christmas cauliflower lasagne.
Speaking about the show, Jamie says: “I can’t wait to show people how wonderful the world of seasonal cooking is and how ingredients can taste, feel, look and cook better in their prime time.
"The show is packed with delicious ways to enjoy local, British produce in our kitchens all year round. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have your own garden patch or even windowsill space, you can still tap into what is in the supermarkets and farmer’s markets at that moment and get closer to fresher, more sustainable ingredients.”
Jamie Cooks Spring — Q&A with Jamie Oliver
Why did you want to make this four-part series, which will see Summer, Autumn and Winter episodes later this year?
“I really want to inspire more people to embrace the beauty of seasonal cooking. Eating seasonally is not only better for the planet, it’s also a great way to get more of the good stuff into your diet, and keep costs down in the kitchen. Ultimately, Jamie Cooks exists to help you surf the seasons – it’s about giving viewers lots of ideas for transforming seasonal produce into delicious dishes and, if they’re up for it, the confidence to have a go at growing their own food. There’s nothing like the taste of fresh seasonal produce - especially if you’ve grown it yourself!”
How would you describe the show?
“The premise of the show is simple – grow it, cook it, eat it! As hippyish as this sounds, I believe that having a connection to where our food comes from is essential for our future. I’m not doing anything that hasn’t been done before, but I want to encourage more people to get back into the rhythm of growing and cooking their own food. Eating with the seasons is the first step in that journey.”
You’ve filmed this from your home. Will your family pop up during the programmes?
“Yes! My family is around, as is my faithful dog Conker! I said to the family if they want to rock up and check it out, they should. Jools [Jamie’s wife] and the kids pop in and out of the garden during filming. My son River turns up, asks what’s going on, and helps with things, like pulling up potatoes. The keenest member of the family to be involved is Conker - whenever I’m cooking meat, he’s always by my side!”
Do you spend a lot of time in your garden?
“I’m in there every day I can be! I’m obsessed. I probably spend an hour in the garden every night, picking and eating. Everything that isn’t used at home goes straight to the office kitchen in London. I’m often on the road by 5am and the boot of my car is full of lettuce, beans, broccoli, cauliflower and herbs for staff lunch. My first flat in London was a tiny studio and I was skint, so I grew window boxes of herbs and chillies. These days, I’m really lucky to have the space to grow enough fruit and veg to feed my family - and the extended office family!”
What can we expect to see on the menu?
“Recipes in this Spring episode include brilliant broccoli pizza, hot 'n' sour rhubarb with crispy pork, and rhubarb and custard tart. To be able to go outside and snap off asparagus spears, which are so fresh you don’t need to cook them for much more than a minute, is amazing. They only need a pinch of salt and maybe a squeeze of lemon, and they taste extraordinary. That really gets me excited.”
Will viewers get a sense of nature at work while watching?
“Yes, and it’s a relaxed vibe. Birdsong you hear in the background is real birds in the garden. We’ve put a lot of effort into capturing the British weather by using macro lenses and filming time lapses, so you can get a real sense of the changes in the seasons. It’s very beautiful. There’s a specific pace to the series because it’s about the passage of time, from planting the seeds to cooking what we’ve grown.”
What impact do you hope the series will have?
“If viewers start eating more seasonally that’s fantastic. I would also love it if the show inspires viewers to give growing a go, particularly younger people, who maybe haven’t grown anything themselves before. The minute you grow something yourself, cook and enjoy it, you’re changed for life. This might sound romantic, but you do start to think differently. I want everyone to experience that!”
Jamie Cooks Spring season 1 — episode guide
Episode 1 — Monday, 29 April, 2024
In Jamie Cooks Spring's opening episode, the UK chef picks some rhubarb from the garden and celebrates its tart tanginess by making a lip-smacking sauce for marinated pork belly, pan-fried until crispy in his hot and sour rhubarb crispy pork noodles.
He then uses some new season spinach for a silky and luxurious spinach and goat's cheese risotto, before celebrating a veg that has seen us through the winter and into spring - the leek - as he cooks up a spring tart. Jamie also shows us how to divide shop-bought basil into lots of individual plants to last us through the year and celebrates the vibrantly coloured stalks and leaves of chard in a crowd-pleasing cheesy spring cannelloni.
Episode 2 — Monday, 6 May, 2024
Jamie celebrates the bounty of the spring garden and kitchen by picking some beautiful asparagus spears and cooking them wrapped in smoky bacon, served with sustainably sourced red mullet, scallops, squid and sea bass... a special meal that he shares with his dad, Trevor.
Back in the garden, Jamie plants some tomato plants and shows us how to naturally deter pests with some companion planting. He then cooks up the a delicious and impressive spring greens ravioli, heroes some beautiful spring onions in his version of an aromatic spicy green chicken curry and shows us how to grow some unusual crops out of shop-bought veggies. Finally, he gives purple sprouting broccoli an Italian-inspired makeover on a pizza with Cumberland sausage and a quick and easy tomato sauce.
Episode 3 — Monday, 13 May, 2024
Jamie rounds up the glorious Spring offerings by planting some spuds for Summer, before cooking up some Jersey Royal potatoes dressed in a wild garlic pesto served with a beautiful stuffed salmon.
He also makes a super-simple broad bean mezze, rustles up a beautiful lunch for himself and Jools using fresh spring lettuces, served in a Roquefort cheese and crouton salad alongside a spatchcocked roast chicken.
Jamie then finishes it all off with a spectacular rhubarb and custard tart, with almond pastry and almond brittle on top, the perfect dessert for any springtime occasion.
Roll on the Summer series!
Is there a trailer for Jamie Cooks Spring?
Not yet, but if one is released we will add it to this guide.
When can I watch Jamie Cooks Summer?
The next instalment of Jamie Oliver's year-long cooking series is due to air in July 2024. In a change from previous plans, it will no longer be called Jamie Cooks Summer. The new title for the Summer instalment is Jamie: What To Eat This Week - Summer.
Jamie: What to Eat This Week - Autumn airs on Channel 4 from Monday 9 September 2024 at 8pm. We will update this space with information on Jamie: What to Eat This Week - Winter later this year.
