I was lucky enough to get the Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals cookbook for my birthday and it looks like I’m not the only one since it’s apparently the fastest selling non-fiction book of all time. The book’s philosophy is that by being organised and making clever shortcuts you can bang out a delicious multi-dish meal in just half an hour.

In the past few months I’ve had a chance to try out a few of the meals including the killer jerk chicken, the spring lamb, the fish tray bake, the Moroccan lamb, roast beef and the pork chops… so the question is, is it any cop?

I’m a relatively experienced cook with a pretty good idea of how to muddle my way around the kitchen but cooking to one of these recipes is a whole new ballgame. First of all forget about the 30 minutes. If you are Jamie Oliver it takes 30 minutes. If you are not Jamie Oliver it doesn’t. However, don’t let that put you off. If you, like me, often entertain during the week being able to make an impressive meal in under and hour is pretty good going.

Second of all, this is not a leisurely meander around the kitchen, when he tells you that you need to have your ingredients ready before you start, he is not fucking around. Within a couple of minutes you’re going to have three different dishes on the go and if you have to root around in the fridge for the thyme, you’re risking burning something.

It’s like a workout, you will run around, you will drop shit, you will swear like a sailor and by the end of it your kitchen will look like a bomb went off in it and scattered herbs and olive oil from floor to ceiling… and you might just need a little lie down before you tuck into your masterpiece.

Of course if you need a little help you can go to the Channel 4 website and actually watch Jamie do the meals. There are 40 recipes on there already. It might not have the desired effect though. I watched Jamie swan around his massive kitchen barely breaking a sweat before I attacked the jerk chicken myself with fervour and a false sense of security. Watching him had made me forget that my kitchen is really just a shelf on the side of my lounge, my oven is minute, my pots are a bit shit to be honest and I can’t chop stuff to save my life. By the time I served the chicken I was cursing Mr Oliver and all his clever ideas… and the fact that he doesn’t have to clean up afterwards.

Whinging aside though the food is delicious and will prove to you just how much you can do in a short period of time. Plus once your partner/housemates/guests stop laughing at the fact that you’re running around with a pot of potatoes desperately looking for somewhere to put it, they’re going to be wowed! You can buy the ingredients in a supermarket and on the odd occasion that you can’t, swapping in a few dried herbs or just having one variety of tomatoes hasn’t seemed to harm any of my attempts so far.

If you’re looking to up your cooking game, fast, this is definitely the cookery book for you, just make sure you have a valium before you hit the stove.