karmi for fine foods : Jamie Oliver

Jamie Oliver

Jamie Trevor Oliver MBE (born 27 May 1975) is a British chef and restaurateur. His approachable cuisine has seen him front numerous television shows and open many restaurants. Born and raised in Clavering, Essex, he was educated in London before joining Antonio Carluccio's Neal Street restaurant as a pastry chef. While serving as a sous-chef at the River Café, he was noticed by Patricia Llewellynof Optomen;^[1] and in 1999 the BBC aired his television show, The Naked Chef. This was followed by a first cook book, which became a No. 1 UK bestseller. His television work included a documentary, Jamie's Kitchen, which gained him an invitation from Prime Minister Tony Blair to visit 10 Downing Street. In June 2003, Oliver became a Member of the Order of the British Empire. In 2005, he opened a campaign, Feed Me Better, to introduce schoolchildren to healthier foods. This was later backed by the government. Soon after came the first branch of a restaurant chain, Jamie's Italian, in Oxford in 2008. His TED Talk won him the 2010 TED Prize.

Early life[edit]

Jamie Oliver was born and raised in the village of Clavering. His parents, Trevor and Sally Oliver, ran a pub/restaurant, The Cricketers, where he practised cooking in the kitchen with his parents.^[2] He has one sibling, sister Anne-Marie^[3] and was educated at Newport Free Grammar School.

He left school at the age of sixteen with two GCSE qualifications in Art and Geology^[4] and went on to attend Westminster Technical College now Westminster Kingsway College.^[2]He then earned a City & Guilds National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in home economics.^[5]

Career[edit]

Oliver cooking at one of the Scandic Hotels in 2014

Oliver's first job was a pastry chef at Antonio Carluccio's Neal Street restaurant, where he first gained experience at preparing Italian cuisine, and developed a relationship with his mentor Gennaro Contaldo; later in his career Oliver employed Contaldo to help run his collection of high street restaurants, Jamie's Italian.^[6] Oliver moved to The River Café, Fulham, as a sous-chef. It was there that he was noticed by the BBC in 1997, after making an unscripted appearance in a documentary about the restaurant, Christmas at the River Cafe.^[7]

In 1999, his BBC show The Naked Chef debuted, and his cookbook became a No. 1 best-seller in the United Kingdom.^[8] That same year, Oliver was invited to prepare lunch for the Prime Minister Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street.^[8]

After three series of Naked Chef programmes (The Naked Chef, Return of the Naked Chef & Happy Days with The Naked Chef) for the BBC, Oliver moved to Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, where his first series was a documentary, Jamie's Kitchen which followed the setting up of Fifteen restaurant in London. The restaurant, in Westland Place, London, continues to train young adults who have a disadvantaged background for careers in the restaurant business.^[9]

In June 2003, Oliver was awarded an MBE for his services to the hospitality industry.^[10] Although it is customary to wear a tie for the prestigious event, Jamie Oliver had decided to wear a brown suit instead, since wearing a tie had made him nervous ^[11]

In 2005, Oliver initiated a campaign originally called Feed Me Better to move British schoolchildren towards eating healthy foods and cutting out junk food. As a result, the British government also pledged to address the issue. Delving into politics to push for changes in nutrition resulted in people voting him as the "Most Inspiring Political Figure of 2005," according to a Channel 4 News annual viewer poll.^[8] His emphasis on cooking fresh, nutritious food continued as he created Jamie's Ministry of Food, a television series where Oliver travelled to inspire everyday people in Rotherham, Yorkshire, to cook healthy meals. Another television series is Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution (2010–11), where he travelled first to Huntington, West Virginia and then to Los Angeles to change the way Americans eat, and address their dependence on fast food.^[8]

Oliver's holding company, Jamie Oliver Holdings Ltd., earned enough for Oliver to have been listed on The Sunday Times list of richest Britons under 30.^[12]^[13]

In December 2009, Oliver received the 2010 TED Prize.^[14] Oliver hosted Jamie's 15 Minute Meals on Channel 4, which aired for 40 episodes in 2012.^[15]

Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group[edit]

Burgers at Jamie's Italian at Oxford

In June 2008, Oliver launched a restaurant called Jamie's Italian, his first high-street business venture, in Oxford, England.^[16] At peak, there were 42 "Jamie's Italian" restaurants in the UK. The brand has been franchised and includes branches in the UAE, Australia (which Oliver part-bought back in November 2016 after its founders went bankrupt)^[17], Canada, Cyprus, Iceland, Ireland, Russia, Turkey, Singapore and Hong Kong. In January 2017, Chief Executive Simon Blagden announced the closure of six restaurants in the UK affecting 120 jobs, at sites in Aberdeen, Cheltenham, Exeter, Tunbridge Wells; and in London at Ludgate and Richmond.^[18] In January 2018, as part of an agreement with creditors to secure £71.5M of debt, JORG proposed to enter the UK company Jamie's Italian Ltd into a Company Voluntary Agreement, seeking rent reductions on eight outlets and closing a further 12 in: Bath; Bristol; Bluewater; Chelmsford; Harrogate; Kingston; Milton Keynes; Reading; St Albans; and Greenwich, Piccadilly and Threadneedle Street in London. As part of the agreement, court papers revealed that Jamie's Italian had debts of £71.5m, including: £2.2m in wages owed to staff; £30.2m of overdrafts and loans; £41.3m owed to landlords, HM Revenue and Customs, suppliers and other creditors; with £47m of the debts covered by loans from HSBC Bank and Oliver's other companies.^[19]^[20]^[21]

In 2009 his chain of cooking school/delis called Recipease were opened in several locations in the UK including Brighton, Battersea and Notting Hill in London. By the end of 2015 all stores had been closed.

In 2011 Oliver set up Barbecoa, a BBQ meat-based restaurant with his friend, American barbecue expert Adam Perry Lang. There were two outlets, both in London, one in Piccadilly and a second in St Pauls. In 2014 the Piccadilly outlet voluntarily closed for 24 hours after hygiene inspectors gave it the second lowest rating. The Times reported they had found mouse droppings, mouldy carcasses and out-of-date meat.^[22] In February 2018, JORG confirmed that they had "instructed a firm of real estate agents to ascertain the potential value and market suitability of two of our sites."^[23] On 19 February 2018, Barbecoa Ltd went into administration, with Oliver immediately buying back the St Paul's site in a pre-packed agreement via a new subsidiary.^[24]