RECIPES

James May: real men do cook vegan burgers

We’ll look back on eating meat as primitive behaviour, says the Grand Tour presenter. Ahead of a new series of his unlikely cookery show, he shares three easy recipes

JAY BROOKS FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES MAGAZINE
The Sunday Times

Before reading the recipes on these pages, or indeed watching my cooking show, you should be aware that I can’t really cook. I’m doing my best to make up for lost time but I’m a child of the 1970s, when wearing an apron was tantamount to wearing a skirt unless you were a woodwork teacher. The only men I knew who prepared food worked in greasy spoons or were short-order cooks in the army.

These days, chefs are revered as temperamental artists with cult followings and restaurant chains. When I present car shows we often get criticised for driving around in Lamborghinis and Ferraris but when you think about it, most cooking shows are no different. Who really makes pasta from scratch and adds fresh