Jamie Oliver reveals he wants his kids to ‘struggle’ and says it’s good for them to embrace ‘anxiety and worry’ as life’s challenges are part of success

Jamie Oliver has spoken about how he wants his children to ‘struggle’ with and deal with ‘fear and worry’, saying life’s challenges are part of the path to success.

The 49-year-old TV chef has five children – Poppy Honey, 22, Daisy Boo, 21, Petal Blossom, 15, Buddy Bear, 13, and River Rocket, eight – with his wife Jools, also 49.

And while they undoubtedly live a comfortable life despite his own fame and fortune, Jamie wants his young family to embrace the “melting pot” of different emotions they can experience in their lives, noting that “life is not meant to be easy.”

Speaking with Essex Life magazineJamie said: ‘I think confidence, anxiety and fear are all part of a cauldron of different emotions that challenge us.

‘And I think they can present themselves when you’re young, as things that hold you back. But at the same time, as you get older, they create a tension that allows you to do your best work.

The 49-year-old TV chef has five children – Poppy Honey, 22, Daisy Boo, 21, Petal Blossom, 15, Buddy Bear, 13, and River Rocket, eight – with his wife Jools, also 49.

“Life isn’t supposed to be linear or easy. I want my kids to struggle as much as they can, in a safe and controlled way. If it’s too easy, it’s really vanilla.”

But while Jamie stresses the importance of his children rising to the occasion, his 13-year-old son Buddy looks set for success after being given his own cooking show on the BBC.

The show Cooking Buddies, which fell apart after the teenager’s success on YouTube, is being produced by his famous father’s media company and will also feature “surprise appearances” from the Oliver family.

It comes more than a year after Jamie insisted that Buddy will ‘earn his craft’ when he becomes a chef and not live off his name like a typical ‘Nepo Baby.

He said that Buddy, like him, will receive a solid basic training to make his upcoming son an even more complete chef.

Jamie told MailOnline exclusively: ‘The only way to do it is to do it right.

‘The technical and practical side of cooking is one thing, but the really interesting and emotional part of cooking is serving people, immersing yourself with food producers and farmers – you can’t fake that.’

He continues: ‘When I was running Fifteen restaurant, most of our young people were unemployed, coming out of prison or coming out of a problematic situation.

Jamie has insisted that he wants his young family to embrace the ‘cauldron’ of different emotions they may feel as they go through life, noting that ‘life is not meant to be easy’

“Life isn’t supposed to be linear or easy. I want my kids to struggle as much as possible, in a safe and controlled way. If it’s too easy, it’s really vanilla”

While Jamie stresses the importance of his children overcoming challenges, his son Buddy, 13, looks set for success after being given his own BBC cookery show

It comes more than a year after Jamie insisted that Buddy will ‘earn his craft’ if he becomes a chef and not live off his name like a typical ‘Nepo Baby’

“We put these kids in front of great farmers and craftsmen, fishermen and producers, that’s what changes you and I would definitely do that with Buddy, if he wanted to go that route. He would definitely earn his craft.”

This comes after Jamie shared an inspiring message of hope and support ahead of GCSE results day on Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of teenagers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland published their GCSE exam results in a year when figures in all three countries were due to return to 2019 levels.

Jamie took to Instagram to say he shouldn’t let results “define” him and opened up about his struggles with dyslexia growing up.

The chef himself was diagnosed with dyslexia in primary school and has previously been open about his experiences with the condition.

This comes after Jamie shared an inspiring message of hope and support ahead of GCSE results day on Thursday

Jamie wrote: ‘Huge good luck to everyone getting their GCSE results today…I hope you get the grades you want and if you don’t, trust me when I say it’s not the end of the world and it doesn’t have to define you!!’

Jamie wrote: ‘Huge good luck to everyone getting their GCSE results today… I hope you get the grades you want. And if you don’t, trust me when I say it’s not the end of the world and it doesn’t have to define you!!

‘I learned that myself through being dyslexic and that’s why my Billy children’s books have such a special place in my heart. What it does mean is that you may have to find another way to get where you want to be….and you know what it’s fun to be unconventional!!

‘Intelligence comes in many forms and I (and Billy!) have every confidence that the rest of the world will see your genius, just as I do xx x.’

Dyslexia is a learning disability that primarily affects the accurate and fluent reading and spelling of words. It affects people of all intelligence levels and can result in poor or inconsistent spelling and writing skills.