Jamie Oliver's affable nature, frequent use of the word "pukka", and down-to-earth personality have earned him a vast following worldwide. He has sold millions of cookbooks, opened a restaurant, starred in several television shows, and revolutionized UK school dinners.
Born on May 27th, 1975, in Clavering, Essex, Jamie grew up in a pub called 'The Cricketers', where his parents, Trevor and Sally, were the proprietors. It was here that the young Jamie began to hone his culinary skills, practicing daily in the kitchen and by the time he was 11, he could cut vegetables with the same proficiency as the kitchen staff. He later attended Newport Free Grammar School and left at the age of 16 with two GCSE qualifications, going on to attend Westminster Kingsway College, formerly Westminster College. He then earned a City & Guilds NVQ in home economics.
Jamie's first foray into the culinary industry was as a pastry chef at Antonio Carluccio's Neal's Yard restaurant, where he gained experience preparing Italian cuisine and developed a relationship with his mentor, Gennaro Contaldo. He then moved to The River Café, Fulham, as a sous chef.
Around the same time, Jamie began attending the Westminster Catering College at the age of 16. Later, he worked in France, immersing himself in the culture and learning as much as he could before returning to London. His first job back was working for Antonio Carluccio as Head Pastry Chef at The Neal Street Restaurant.
Here, Jamie worked alongside Gennaro Contaldo, who he considers one of his mentors. After The Neal Street Restaurant, Jamie worked 3 1/2 years at the famous River Cafe in London, a position that would change his life forever. It was here that he learned "all about the time and effort that goes into creating the freshest, most honest, totally delicious food." Not only that, it was also during his time at the River Cafe 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". That year, his show The Naked Chef debuted and his cookbook became a number one best-seller in the UK. That same year, Oliver was invited to prepare lunch for then Prime Minister Tony Blair at No. 10 Downing Street!
In July 2000, Oliver married former model Juliette Norton. The couple met in 1993 and have four children: Poppy Honey Rosie Oliver (born 18 March 2002),Daisy Boo Pamela Oliver (born on 10 April 2003),Petal Blossom Rainbow Oliver (born on 3 April 2009) and Buddy Bear Maurice Oliver (born on 15 September 2010).
In 2000, Oliver became the face of the UK supermarket chain Sainsbury's through an endorsement deal worth $2 million a year. After 11 years, the partnership between Oliver & Sainsbury's ended. The final television advertisement was for Christmas 2011.
Oliver created Fifteen in 2002. Each year, fifteen young adults who have a disadvantaged background, criminal record or history of drug abuse, are trained in the restaurant business. Oliver conceived and established the Fifteen charity restaurant where he trained fifteen 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.
In 2005, he initiated a campaign called "Feed Me Better" in order 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.
Oliver then began a formal campaign to ban unhealthy food in British schools and to get children eating 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.
Jamie is represented in London, England by Useful Talent.
