Jamie Oliver tells Kirsty Young that if he had his time again he would run a pub and have ‘just enough’ as his five children have had a ‘tough’ time being raised in the public eye
Famous multi-millionaire chef Jamie Oliver has said he would rather live a ‘normal’ life and run a pub if he could go back in time.
The chef, who has written 27 cookbooks and created dozens of TV series, is one of the most recognizable faces in the catering industry.
Looking back on his success, he revealed in an interview with presenter Kirsty Young that he would prefer a life of ‘anonymity’.
As the third guest on BBC Radio 4’s Young Again podcast, he suggested he ‘go to the pub’ and ‘live a normal life’.
‘I would be aware that anonymity is our most valuable gift, that we will never give money to have just enough and to carry on and be the best at your thing. And just like, being part of a community and having a reciprocity and equality,” he said.
Jamie Oliver, 48, who has an estimated fortune of £200million and has written 27 cookbooks, has revealed that given his time he would opt for a life of ‘anonymity’
Oliver burst onto the scene in 1999 as The Naked Chef on the BBC, before moving to Channel 4, where he fronted the Jamie’s Kitchen documentary, after founding restaurant Fifteen.
Since then, he has written the equivalent of one cookbook a year throughout his career and is now estimated to have a net worth of around £200 million.
However, having grown up in a north Essex pub owned by his parents, the celebrity chef fondly reminisced about his upbringing and advocated the importance of the pub environment in British culture.
‘I was never bored, I was never lonely. I was dyslexic, I was hyperactive… but in a pub I was bouncing around,” he recalls.
Oliver burst onto the scene in 1999 as Naked Chef on the BBC (pictured) before continuing his TV career on Channel 4
Jamie Oliver appears in the third episode of Kirsty Young’s BBC Radio 4 podcast Young Again
Although he admitted that he ‘always had a bill in his pocket’ growing up, Oliver insisted that he received no pocket money from his parents and that he worked in the pub to earn his money by washing pots and cleaning toilets. .
Speaking about his own children, who range from five to 21 years old, he said the older children in the brood had “seven or eight tough years” at school, being raised by a father who came under scrutiny as a public figure taken.
“(They) got grief because of me,” he said, arguing that “celebrity and children are not a good combination.”
He said: ‘It’s absolutely not healthy for children, period. But we are committed now.”
When asked by Young if he would go back and pursue a private life if he had time again, Oliver replied, “Absolutely.”
He added: ‘If I came back to earth and did it again I would go to the pub.’
Oliver acknowledged that he is “grateful” for the things he has experienced in his life and admitted that it is “a big job keeping Jamie Oliver, Family Oliver going 24/7.”
The celebrity chef then expressed his hopes for the future, based on the campaigns he has previously supported, which aim to improve the overall health of the country.
Elsewhere in the interview, Oliver addressed the ‘failures’ of his career, including the collapse of his restaurant chain Jamie’s Italian in May 2019.
A drop in profits and an exodus of customers forced Oliver to pull the plug on the chain, leading to the closure of 22 locations and the loss of 1,000 jobs.
Speaking to Young, he said: “I’ve failed at a lot of things, but that was particularly painful.”
Oliver revealed that his five children (pictured at his and wife Jools’ vow renewal this year) have had a ‘tough’ time growing up in the public eye
Reflecting on the problems within the business, he recalls opening the first Jamie’s Italian in Oxford at the age of 28, when he was determined to fight the recession that was gripping the British economy at the time.
However, he admitted: ‘Our structure was wrong and I wasn’t smart enough to know it… but we had these golden seven or eight years.’ He added that he has never received wages or dividends for the entire company.
As he prepares to open a restaurant on Catherine Street in central London in the coming months, he said: ‘It’s my second chance and possibly my last chance.
‘And I won’t come back stubborn. I promise I’m vulnerable. But I wake up shaking, I’m excited every day.”
He revealed that the site is owned by Sir Andrew Lloyd-Weber, who is now his ‘landlord’.
When describing the menu at the restaurant, he said it refers to his memories of being 12-18 years old.
“It’s actually a tribute to mom and dad,” he said.