Are Jamie Oliver's 30 minute meals realistic?

There's a new baby boy in the house to add to the brood of three little girls so it's no wonder Jamie Oliver has turned his attention to quick family suppers with Jamie's 30-minute meals writes Tracey O'Sullivan.

Now I'm no cook and that's an understatement. My husband loves to tell the story repeatedly of how I tried to cook or should I say warm a pizza with just the oven light for company.

In my defence I knew that wasn't the way to go, I just hadn't turned the knob quite far enough.

But I admit I am no domesticated goddess. So I watch Jamie just for the sheer enjoyment of it. And I firmly believe that's the way to go.

Is it just me or does anyone else think that it would be nigh on impossible to create his Rogan Josh Curry with fluffy rice, carrot salad, poppodams and flatbread in half an hour never mind any of the other dishes he has been trotting out in his new teatime programme for Channel Four?

I don't think so? I have not made any attempt to try it but I am convinced even the Nigellas and Delias among us would struggle, never mind how long it would take to shop for all the ingredients and execute a satisfactory clear-up.

It seems to me as if he uses almost every implement in the kitchen. There's a distinct possibility his 30-minute meals could just add to the stress of family mealtimes but you still have this hankering to join him on the journey.

The man and his infectious enthusiasm for food is compulsive viewing. You may not need to try his food to enjoy the experience although I'm sure that's far from what the pukka chef is trying to achieve.

Maybe it's because that while his methods are often misguided his heart is in the right place.

Jamie's Food Revolution has also been fantastic television. While many of his victories in the town of Huntington where he launched his bid to change the diet of America and encourage healthy eating were well sign-posted throughout the series it was his ability to engage with people – even frosty school dinner lady Alice – that won over viewers.

He almost broke down in tears at discovering children at the town's school didn't have knives and forks and were never served food that would need such essentials and his bid to get 1,000 people taking part in a cooking experiment in the town's main street was indeed a spectacle worth seeing.

I know I enjoy joining Jamie a lot more when cooking doesn't come into it - for me that is. But maybe one of these days I will give the pizza a miss and try turning that knob a little further on the cooker and see what I can do.