MarieClaire
  • News
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Lifestyle
  • Career
  • Bridal
  • marie hair
  • Gifts
  • The Edit
  • Discount Codes
MarieClaire
  • News
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Lifestyle
  • Career
  • Bridal
  • marie hair
  • Gifts
  • The Edit
  • Discount Codes
Subscribe
  1. Home
  2. Lifestyle

Frankly Speaking With Jamie Oliver

He was just an Essex kid who loved cooking and went on to build a food empire. Here, the father-of-five talks to Jackie Frank about life, love and getting men into the kitchen - by marie claire
  • 11 Sep 2017
Frankly Speaking With Jamie Oliver

JACKIE: Let’s go back to the beginning. Was there anything in your childhood that suggested you’d be this runaway success?

JAMIE: No. Definitely not. I did terribly at school. I grew up in a pub in the food industry. I knew I wanted to cook, but, no, not at all. I mean, my absolute plan was fairly worked out: I’d take over a pub, crack on, maybe find a wife, rattle out a few kids, done.

JF: Well, you’ve rattled out a few kids – five.

JO: Yeah, geez. What a roller-coaster! 

JF: What kind of kid were you?

JO: Curious, a bit hyper, fairly decent, friends with a lot of people. I had a lot of fun, was a little bit mischievous. But I worked a lot as a kid. I started working [in the kitchen of his parents’ pub] when I was eight, for pocket money, on weekends and summer holidays. In a family business you’re kept really busy. Dad was tough, quite strict. He taught me that people die in bed, so get up! He used to wake me up with a hose.

JF: Really?

JO: Yeah. Mum and Dad were great. They used to work seven days a week, but they were always there. That’s one of the joys of living in a family business: they’re always there, but you’re quite independent. Even as a 10-year-old I’d, like, go out at nine and come back at six at night.

Jamie Oliver
Getty

JF: You seem to have had a dream run in your career. Early on as a pastry chef at Antonio Carluccio’s London restaurant, then sous-chef at The River Café, where you were spotted by a BBC talent scout.

JO: I was in the background of a Christmas program, Christmas at The River Café. When they cut the show, I ended up in a lot of it. Then a few people spotted it and suggested I have my own show, which was really not the plan.

JF: The Naked Chef.

JO: I wrote a kind of pitch document. I didn’t want to just follow the norm. I said, “Look, I want to strip down restaurant food to its bare essentials, I want to do it in my flat, I want it cut to my music that I listen to, I don’t want to wear chef whites, I just want to have a party.” And that’s pretty much what The Naked Chef was. It was going to be called Forking Gorgeous originally, and thank God they changed it to The Naked Chef. It was BBC2 and it went massive straight away. I mean, it was nuts!

Frankly Speaking - Jackie Frank meets Jamie Oliver (Oct 2017)

JF: Why do you think that was?

JO: It was a really interesting moment in time. You know, it’s 20 years next year since The Naked Chef. I think it was always about democratising food. The fact I was young, a kid ... [For viewers] it was like, “If he can do it, I can do it.” Also, it was a moment where women were, give or take 20 years, into going to work. Forty years ago, 12 per cent of women went to work and here we are now, 76 per cent of women work. So that’s a massive social change.

What was really interesting 20 years ago was that the girls and boys would go and put in a 12-hour day, they’d get home, put their feet up and then all the men of Britain would turn around to their missus and go, “What’s for dinner?” And the girls were like, “I ain’t having it because my feet hurt as well.” And there I was on telly, chirping about, all pukka-ed up, having a go. So the girls were using me to get their boys to cook. I was in all the girls’ magazines. It was a bit like One Direction, but for cooking. It really was nuts.

For the full interview, pick up the October issue of marie claire, on sale now.

RELATED: Frankly Speaking With Deng Adut

Subscribe to Marie Claire-+ save!

Subscribe to marie claire

Subscribe Now
Subscribe to Marie Claire

Subscribe to Marie Claire-+ save!

Subscribe to marie claire

Subscribe Now
Subscribe to Marie Claire

Recommended to you

MAFS' Aleks and Ivan exchange wedding vows
Watch 4:43

MAFS' Aleks and Ivan exchange wedding vows

{headline}

{headline}

Frankly Speaking With Amy Schumer

Frankly Speaking With Amy Schumer

Frankly Speaking With Gloria Steinem

Frankly Speaking With Gloria Steinem

Frankly Speaking With Caitlin Moran

Frankly Speaking With Caitlin Moran

Frankly Speaking With Cindy Gallop

Frankly Speaking With Cindy Gallop

{headline}

{headline}

The Scent Of Success: Chanel’s Head Perfumer Tells How He Created ‘Gabrielle’

The Scent Of Success: Chanel’s Head Perfumer Tells How He Created ‘Gabrielle’

11 Outfits That Will Get You Through Your Next Flight In Comfort *And* Style

11 Outfits That Will Get You Through Your Next Flight In Comfort *And* Style

Julie Andrews Revealed A Surprising BTS Fact From 'Bridgerton' And We're Confused

Julie Andrews Revealed A Surprising BTS Fact From 'Bridgerton' And We're Confused

{headline}

{headline}

The Ultimate Guide To The Best Sex Toys For Women

The Ultimate Guide To The Best Sex Toys For Women

Nicola Coughlan Spills On The Steamy Romance Between Penelope And Colin On 'Bridgerton' S3

Nicola Coughlan Spills On The Steamy Romance Between Penelope And Colin On 'Bridgerton' S3

Helen Mirren And Harrison Ford Have Been Tapped For The 'Yellowstone' Prequel

Helen Mirren And Harrison Ford Have Been Tapped For The 'Yellowstone' Prequel

Emma Thompson Wants Women Of All Ages To Enjoy Sexual Pleasure In 'Good Luck To You, Leo Grande'’

Emma Thompson Wants Women Of All Ages To Enjoy Sexual Pleasure In 'Good Luck To You, Leo Grande'’

This Is The *Real* Salad Jennifer Aniston Ate Every Day For 10 Years On 'Friends'

This Is The *Real* Salad Jennifer Aniston Ate Every Day For 10 Years On 'Friends'

How The Marilyn Monroe Biopic 'Blonde' Cast Looks Compared To The Real People They're Playing

How The Marilyn Monroe Biopic 'Blonde' Cast Looks Compared To The Real People They're Playing

Ana de Armas Has Morphed Into Marilyn Monroe In The First Look At 'Blonde'

Ana de Armas Has Morphed Into Marilyn Monroe In The First Look At 'Blonde'

MarieClaire
  • About Us
  • Discount Codes
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
MarieClaire Magazine Subscribe
  • About Us
  • Discount Codes
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

Brands

  • Beauty Crew
  • Home Beautiful
  • Elle
  • Who

Our Network

  • Better Homes and Gardens
  • BHG Shop
  • beautyheaven
  • New Idea food
  • New Idea
  • Girlfriend
  • That’s Life
  • Practical Parenting
  • All Recipes
  • Perth Now
  • The West Australian
  • 7Plus
  • 7mate
  • 7NEWS
  • 7Sport
  • Sunrise
  • Starts at 60
  • Hard to Find
© 2022 Are Media PTY LTD
All products are independently selected, tested or recommended by our team of experts.If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Get more from Marie Claire

Magazine Subscription Offer

Subscribe to Marie Claire-+ save!

Shop This Offer
Subscribe to Marie Claire