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Jamie's filling more stockings than Nigella
Benedict Moore-Bridger19.12.08
JAMIE OLIVER is beating Nigella Lawson in the battle for the best-selling cookbook this Christmas, a retailer said today.
His book, Ministry of Food, has so far out-sold Nigella Christmas by 200,000 copies at Waterstone's.
Last year, Lawson's Nigella Express took the crown, selling more than 600,000 copies to push Jamie at Home into second place. The retailer said the battle is far from over, because Nigella Christmas is a purely festive book, and its appeal will strengthen as Christmas Day approached.
Oliver's Channel 4 series to accompany his book has finished, while Lawson's show is on BBC2 this week. Waterstone's cookery buyer Sian Jones said: "Jamie has a seemingly unassailable lead, and will be looking to take back his king of cookery crown that he last held in 2006 for Cook with Jamie.
"But with her TV show fresher in the mind than Jamie's, and with millions watching it every night this week, she will make up ground quickly."
Waterstone's said Delia Smith's How To Cheat At Cooking is currently the best-selling cookery book of the year, with more than 500,000 copies sold.
"With Jamie only 100,000 copies behind, and the busiest week of the year to go, he is likely to pass her before Christmas," Ms Jones said.
Reader views (6)
Oliver is boring, over rated a loud mouth who swears all the time, never washes any food he cooks. I would not buy anything he has written for him
- Jaberwokie3, switzerland
I don't wish to know how to dangle my long greasy looking hair over the food I am cooking,or how to dip my filthy looking fingers into other peoples food,so I will purchase Nigella's book the food looks more tempting.
- David Chertsey, Chertsey UK
Hardly a fair competition. Jamie has had a huge amount of TV exposure with his prancing around 'oop north' trying to persuade the fried chocolate fatties of Wigan to eat something resembling healthy food, a completely lost cause, alongside his national school meals campaign, another lost cause. Whilst Nigela, the kitchen goddess, confines herself to a simple format of kitchen preparation and demonstrations whilst dressed in figure hugging attire. Who cares what the food looks or tastes like!!.
- A Bloke, South of England
Neither are particularly appetising, I've bought John Torrode and Gary Rhodes' books myself.
- Bob, Cheam
When are they going to produce an edible cookbook, whichyou can eat after you read it. Nobody actually cooks from those recipes.
- Dhanraj, Basildon Essex
Is there a doctor in the house? Nigella's new recipes are so obviously a cry for help. There isn't enough sugar in the world for everyone who buys her book and watches her show to try them out.
- Bloke, London
