The Skint Cook
Ian Bursnall
When I last spoke to Ian Bursnall at his Leicester home in the English Midlands, he had just narrowly failed to win The Great Cookbook Challenge with Jamie Oliver on Channel 4.
Watching the final, with Dominique Woolf eventually winning the book deal, I was cheering on The Skint Roofer and wrote that I could see his book on the shelves, including some great BBQ recipes, with his theme of simple, affordable, accessible, hearty food, cooking on a budget.
Well, readers, two years later it has come to pass in the form of The Skint Cook – over 80, easy, tasty recipes that won’t break the bank. And, yes, there is a chapter on BBQ. Everyone is so chuffed for Ian, not least Jamie Oliver himself, who writes in these pages of his great love for live-fire cooking, having recently partnered with Weber.
On the TV show, Jamie Oliver, who has sold more cookbooks than any other British author, said: “Ian’s got a real passion. It is all going on in there. Can he get it out there and on to the page?” Yes, he categorically can, and we are even treated in the book to his delightful, handwritten notes, scribbled (and crossed out) odes to his recipe ideas.
“The big man himself, Jamie Oliver, is one top, top geezer – a heart of gold and a true inspiration,” says Ian in his introduction to The Skint Cook.
“My book is based on easy but banging flavours, with recipes inspired by my life. I want people to fall in love with cooking.”
Kofta burger with minted yoghurt
Tasty corn on the cob
Ian with Sam and Shauna
Such a book, with tips and tricks to stretch ingredients a long way, would be welcome any time, but in the heat and burden of a cost-of-living crisis and food banks a grim and shameful reminder of poverty across the UK, it is absolutely
of the moment and deserves to fly off the shelves.
In the book, Ian talks of how his love of cooking came from his mother, and when he moved out, aged 18, she gave him pots and pans and handwritten recipes, which he subsequently added to.
“Every weekend my mates would come round and I would cook. They seemed to love it. I don’t know if it was because we were all steaming or not, but it gave me a buzz and I really got hooked.”
The Skint Roofer – his original Instagram handle, now @theskintcook – was due to his profession, but health issues affected the job and he began to focus on his cooking, which led to him becoming a contestant on the Jamie Oliver programme, with one of the producers Andy Clarke, a regular contributor to BBQ: Fire, Food & Outdoor Living.
Chapter headings include breakfast, tea, dinner and snacks, but I naturally turn first to the BBQ section. The recipes include corn on the cob over the coals, fall-off-the-bone tandoori barbecued chicken, kofta burgers with minted yoghurt, marinated jumbo prawns on skewers, apple-smoked turkey thighs, Mediterranean peppers and Burse’s bonfire bangers. It is no surprise to learn his most essential piece of kitchen equipment is a meat thermometer.
There is also plenty of advice for cooking on a budget, transferring dishes ‘from Sunday League to Champions League – maximum flavour, minimum spend.’
Buy this book and you’ll have your money back by the end of the day. The Skint Cook is a priceless addition to any kitchen bookshelf.
Review by Rupert Bates
