Jamie Oliver

This article is about the TV chef. For the member of the Alternative metal band Lostprophets, see Jamie Oliver (musician).

Jamie Oliver
File:WxwrkOliver.jpg
Education	Westminster Catering College
Spouse	Juliette Norton
Culinary career
Cooking style	Fresh and Organic
Current restaurant(s) Fifteen (London)
Television show(s) Oliver's Twist Jamie's School Dinners Jamie's Great Italian Escape Naked Chef Jamie's Kitchen Jamie's Chef Jamie at Home Jamie's Fowl Dinners

James Trevor 'Jamie' Oliver, MBE (27 May, 1975), frequently nicknamed The Naked Chef, is an English celebrity chef. He is well known for his role in campaigning against processed foods in British schools. Since his early years, his Essex accent, which is often described as "mockney" or "fake cockney," has become infamous - particularly the use of the hindi word "pukka" (colloquially meaning "brilliant" or "solid", originally "cooked" or "ripe"). Oliver is reported to be worth an estimated £25 million.

Biography

James Trevor "Jamie" Oliver, was born on 27 May 1975, and grew up in Clavering, Essex, where his parents owned a pub-restaurant, "The Cricketers". From an early age Oliver helped in the pub kitchen; by the time he was 11, he was adept at vegetable preparation and could chop "like a demon". In 1989, Oliver formed the band Scarlet Division with friend Leigh Haggerwood, in which he was the drummer. Between the ages of 11 and 16 he attended Newport Free Grammar School in Essex. At age 16, he then attended Westminster Catering College and then studied in France, before returning to London to work as head pastry chef for Antonio Carluccio at The Neal Street Restaurant. After The Neal Street Restaurant, Oliver worked for Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers at the River Café for three and a half years; Oliver credits Gray and Rogers with teaching him to create the fresh and simple food which would become his signature. When the producer Patricia Llewellyn arrived to film "An Italian Christmas" at the River Cafe, she spotted Oliver. Llewellyn already had a proven eye for culinary talent as it was she who recognised that Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson-Wright would gel together, and now she was looking for someone who could cook, yet whose image would be different from the stars of The Two Fat Ladies. She put Oliver in front of a camera and told him to stay natural, the result of which was the cookery programme, The Naked Chef. Two highly successful seasons of "The Naked Chef" were filmed in 1998 and 1999. The popular series brought Oliver worldwide fame, and more television programmes and book deals followed. As of 2007, Oliver had seven additional television series and ten books to his name. In 2005 Jamie Oliver received the prestigious Beacon Fellowship Prize for his contribution to disadvantaged young people, offering training and practical experience in the catering industry.

Personal life

On 24 June,2000, Oliver married former model Juliette Norton, also known as "Jools". The couple met in 1993 and have two daughters: Poppy Honey (born in March 2002) and Daisy Boo (born 11 April 2003). They live in Primrose Hill, London.

Wanting to create something positive using his wealth and fame, Oliver conceived and established the Fifteen charity restaurant where he trained 15 disadvantaged young people to work in the hospitality industry. Following the success of the original restaurant in London, more Fifteens have opened around the globe: Fifteen Amsterdam opened in December, 2004, Fifteen Cornwall in Newquay opened in May, 2006, and Fifteen Melbourne opened in September, 2006, with Australian friend and fellow chef, Tobie Puttock. The process of creating and opening the original Fifteen was documented in the series "Jamie's Kitchen".

Next, Oliver began a formal campaign to ban unhealthy food in British schools and get children eating fresh, tasty, nutritious food instead. Oliver's efforts to bring radical change to the school meals system, chronicled in the series "Jamie's School Dinners", challenged the junk food culture by showing schools they could serve healthy, cost-efficient meals that kids enjoyed eating.

In June, 2003, Oliver was appointed an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. He has also written columns for The Times. A great proponent of fresh organic foods, Oliver was named the most influential person in the UK hospitality industry when he topped the inaugural CatererSearch 100 in May 2005. The list placed Oliver higher than Sir Francis Mackay, the then-chairman of the contract catering giant, Compass Group, which Oliver had soundly criticised in "Jamie's School Dinners". In 2006, Oliver dropped to 2nd on the list behind fellow celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.

Advertising

From 1998, Oliver was the public face of the Sainsbury's supermarket chain in the UK, appearing on television and radio advertisements and in-store promotional material. The deal earned him an estimated £1.2 million every year. By 2004, the company had made 65 advertisements with Oliver, but this arrangement has not been without controversy. Oliver was reported to have admitted that he doesn't use supermarkets, saying “For any chef, supermarkets are like a factory. I buy from specialist growers, organic suppliers and farmers". He was also said to have been criticised by the Sainsbury's Chief, Justin King, when he slammed the "junk" sold by supermarkets which end up in the lunchboxes of millions of children. King reportedly hit back, saying: "Dictating to people - on unleashing an expletive-filled tirade - is not the way to get engagement."

Oliver has also promoted a line of non-stick pans and cookware for Tefal, and has appeared in Australian television commercials for Yalumba wines, using his catchphrase of "Lovely Jubbly".

Television shows

The Naked Chef (1998-1999) was Oliver's first series. The title was a reference to the simplicity of Oliver's recipes, and has nothing to do with nudity. Oliver has frequently admitted that he wasn't entirely happy with the title, which was devised by producer Patricia Llewellyn. (In the UK edit of the show, the opening titles include a clip of him telling an unseen questioner, "No way! It's not me, it's the food!") The success of the programme led to the books Return of the Naked Chef and Happy Days with the Naked Chef.

• Series Guide

• Series 1 - 6 editions - 14 April 1999 to 16 June 1999
• Series 2 - 8 editions - 12 April 2000 to 31 May 2000
• Series 3 - 8 editions - 16 October 2001 to 4 December 2001
• Special "Christmas comes early" - 21 December 1999
• Special "Christmas in New York" - 20 December 2000
• Special "Christmas Party" - 19 December 2001

Jamie's Kitchen was a five part 2002 documentary series. It followed chef Jamie Oliver as he attempted to train a group of disadvantaged youth, who would - if they completed the course - be offered jobs at Oliver's new restaurant Fifteen. This was followed by Return to Jamie's Kitchen in 2003.

Jamie's Kitchen Australia was a ten part 2006 television series, similar to Jamie's kitchen, that was based in and aired in Australia.

Jamie's School Dinners (2005) was a four part documentary series. Oliver took responsibility for running the kitchen meals in Kidbrooke School, Greenwich, for a year. Disgusted by the unhealthy fare being served to schoolchildren and the lack of healthy alternatives on offer, Oliver began a campaign to improve the standard of Britain’s school meals. Public awareness was raised, and, subsequent to Oliver's efforts, the UK Government pledged to spend £280m on school dinners (spread over three years). Tony Blair himself acknowledged that this was a result of Oliver's campaign. Following the success of the campaign, Oliver was named "Most Inspiring Political Figure of 2005" in the Channel 4 Political Awards 2006. During the school dinners programme, Oliver's Fifteen London was visited by Bill Clinton. Clinton asked to see Oliver; however, Oliver refused, as Clinton's party had asked for other diners to be removed to make room for their larger-than-agreed-upon group. In episode 2 of Jamie's School Dinners, Clinton's party had 36 show up for a booking of 16 and many of them were on a South Beach Diet and did not want the special menu that had been prepared, even though the menu had been approved in advance.

Jamie's Great Italian Escape, a six part travelogue series, was first broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK in October 2007. It follows Jamie as he travels around Italy in a blue VW van (plus a trailer for cooking). Jamie is about to turn 30, and this is his personal adventure to rediscover his love of cooking.

Jamie's Return To School Dinners

Jamie's Chef (2007) was a four part series continuing where Jamie's Kitchen left off. Five years and fifty trainees later, Oliver's most recent series aims to help the winning trainee establish their own restaurant at The Cock, a pub near Braintree in Essex. The charitable Fifteen Foundation retains ownership of the property and has provided a £125,000 loan for the winner, Aaron Craze, to refurbish the establishment.

Jamie at Home (2007) featured Jamie presenting home-style recipes and gardening tips, with many ingredients coming from his substantial home garden. Jamie at Home airs on the Food Network in the United States. Due to licensing restrictions, only two recipes from each Jamie at Home episode will appear online; also, access to recipes is limited to users within the United States.[1]

Jamie at Home Christmas special (2007)

Jamie's Fowl Dinners (2008) A special with Jamie backing Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's "Hugh's Chicken Run" in trying to get the British to eat free-range chickens

Jamie's Ministry of Food (2008), a new four part series currently in production, is based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. Jamie aims to make the town "the culinary capital of the United Kingdom" and wants to get the town's inhabitants to learn how to cook fresh food and establish healthy eating as part of daily life. The 'Pass It On' campaign also features in this series with the local towns people being taught one of a selection of recipes and passing it on to family members and friends. The 'Pass It On' campaign has also gained a following on the social networking website Facebook which has a group and fan page with users signing up to chart their progress. The series will be broadcast in the Autumn of 2008.

Oliver's programmes are shown in over 40 countries, including the USA's Food Network. Oliver's Twist and "Pukka Tukka" picked up where "The Naked Chef" left off.

Other television appearances

Jamie Oliver has twice guest-hosted Channel 4's The Friday Night Project.

He has also made two appearances in the "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car" segment of BBC Two's Top Gear. His first appearance was notorious for his attempt to make a green salad in the back of his Volkswagen Microbus while The Stig drove it around the Top Gear test track.

Oliver is the second British celebrity chef (after Robert Irvine) to appear as a challenger on Iron Chef America, taking on Iron Chef Mario Batali in 2008 in a losing battle with cobia as the theme ingredient.

He is starring as one of the judges in the 2008 US series The Big Give hosted by Oprah Winfrey on ABC.

Live shows

The Happy Days Live tour was Oliver's first live show in 2001 and included several dates in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Performing to sold-out venues, he cooked on stage and interacted with the audiences with competitions, music and special effects only usually seen in pop concerts. He took the audiences by surprise by singing and drumming to a song called Lamb Curry written by his longtime friend Leigh Haggerwood. Oliver appears at the BBC good food show each year and took to the road once more in 2006 on an Australian tour where he performed in Sydney and Melbourne. Following the entertaining format of his first live show, the 2006 Australian tour featuring special guests including mentor Gennaro Contaldo, and students from Fifteen London. Jamie also performed a new song written by Leigh Haggerwood called Fish Stew which Jamie cooked to and also drummed along to at the end of the show. The shows were a great success and are featured in a one-off TV documentary called Jamie Oliver: Australian Diary.

Controversy and criticism

In 2003, Oliver was ranked number 28 in Channel 4's poll of "100 Worst Britons". The poll was inspired by the BBC series 100 Greatest Britons. The poll specified that the nominees had to be British, alive, and not currently in prison or pending trial.

In 2005, Oliver was widely criticised for slaughtering a fully conscious lamb on his TV show.

In 2005, Jamie Oliver embarked upon his school dinners campaign to improve the quality of food fed to pupils. Whilst the campaign proved to be ultimately successful, at the time it was a highly controversial shake-up for students and parents, some of whom were vocally and actively against the scheme. In September 2006, Rawmarsh Community School, South Yorkshire, UK, made headlines after a handful of parents revolted against Oliver's lunch scheme, in which all 1,100 pupils on site were fed two portions of fruit and three vegetables every day, by delivering food from local shops to the pupils through the school fence. One parent dismissed Oliver's food as "disgusting rubbish" and declared, "Food is cheaper and better at the local takeaways.”

Books

Cookbooks

• Something for the Weekend, ISBN 0-1410-2258-2
• The Naked Chef, ISBN 0-7868-6617-9
• The Return of the Naked Chef, ISBN 0-7181-4439-2
• Happy Days with the Naked Chef, ISBN 0-7868-6852-X
• The Naked Chef Takes Off, ISBN 0-7868-6755-8
• Jamie's Kitchen, ISBN 1-4013-0022-7
• Jamie's Dinners, ISBN 1-4013-0194-0
• Jamie's Italy, ISBN 0-7181-4770-7
• Cook With Jamie, ISBN 0-7181-4771-5
• Jamie at Home, ISBN 0-7181-5243-3

Further reading

• Stafford Hildred, Jamie Oliver: The Biography (2001) ISBN 1-903402-55-7
• Gilly Smith, Jamie Oliver: Turning Up the Heat (2006) ISBN 0-233-00168-9

External links

• Official website
• Jamie Oliver biography at bbc.co.uk
• Jamie Oliver at IMDb
• Q & A With Jamie Oliver
• Fan Club and Forum
• Pass It On - Facebook Group