Jamie Oliver is back with his new Channel 4 show, Jamie Cooks the Mediterranean. The show sees the chef graze his way through Greek mezze, northern Spain’s seafood, France’s Provençal dishes, and even Tunisia’s street food, as he travels the Med in search of deliciously traditional and vibrantly innovative ways of cooking, from fresh flavours to brilliant simplicity.
In the opening episode, which aired last Sunday on Channel 4, Jamie visits the coastal city of Thessaloniki, Greece’s first Unesco City of Gastronomy.
A highlight for seafood fans is O Petros, a casual taverna where host Petros will take you to choose fish from the fishmonger’s icy trays, then prepare it any way you like.
On Skopelos, a sleepy island three and a half hours by ferry onward from Thessaloniki, Jamie joins two top chefs as they roast great hunks of goat and monkfish, dangling from iron hooks over smouldering olive-wood logs.
You’ll find lovely places to eat along the waterfront in pretty Skopelos town, a white-washed grid of pretty alleys and in beautiful coves such as Agnontas.
Inspired by Thessaloniki’s tasty titbits and the marvellous mezze in Skopelos, Jamie cooks a smoky aubergine flatbread and lemony chargrilled chicken with tzatziki and crispy-bottomed rice.