Jamie Oliver keeps it simple - that's why Gordon Ramsey's wife Tana and I choose his recipes for our families

When it comes to dishing up meals the whole family will enjoy, it’s a bit of a minefield. As a mum of a nine-year-old and a five-year-old, and wife to a self-confessed ‘picky eater’, I have experienced firsthand the ultimate meal-time conundrum - varied and nutritious food that is acceptable to everyone at the table.

Time and again, I have found myself turning to Jamie Oliver for inspiration. His casual approach to cuisine and his penchant for tray bakes, one pot wonders and batch cooking means his recipes can be replicated by busy parents looking for good home cooked food that won’t take half the day to prepare.

His recipes on regular rotation in our house include his Family Spaghetti Bolognese, 7 Veg Tomato Sauce, Chickpea Curry (minus the chillies), and, for a weekend breakfast treat, Pancakes USA Stylie. Yes, he does use words like ‘stylie’ but I will forgive such misdemeanours given how easy he makes meal planning.

And this is why I wasn’t entirely surprised to discover, the wife of Michelin star chef Gordon Ramsay also turns to The Naked Chef for family meal inspiration. Instead of opting for something that might rival her husband’s award winning culinary masterpieces, Tana instead opts to keep it simple in the kitchen.

Speaking to fellow cook and friend Angela Hartnett, 55, and broadcaster Nick Grimshaw, 40, Ramsey, 57, revealed his other half’s snub during a podcast, joking: "Do you have any idea how hard that is for me?"

Discussing why people get stressed in the kitchen, Hartnett said: "And actually, if you see Tana when I've been around for supper, she's so relaxed. "Because why should she switch, she's got five kids, she's got him [Ramsay] hanging around trying to interfere.

"And she's just out and she just cooks something everyone wants to eat, like a great lasagne or a brilliant shepherd's pie. She's amazing."

Ramsay added: "Yeah and they're all Jamie Oliver recipes. Do you have any idea how hard that is for me?"

Oliver, 49, and Ramsay are thought to have had a rocky relationship over the years - but are now said to be friends. Ramsay and author Tana, 49, married in 1996. The Dish podcast aired in September last year, before the pair's sixth child was born.