Jamie Oliver

Background

James Trevor Oliver, commonly known as Jamie Oliver, is a celebrity chef, restaurateur, chef and media personality. He was born on May 27th, 1975 in Clavering, England. His love for food started at an early age as his parents used to run a restaurant cum pub; The Cricketers, where he started practicing how to cook. Oliver schooled at the Newport Free Grammar School up until he was sixteen. He later enrolled at the Westminster Catering College where he earned a National Vocational Qualification in home economics. He started working at Antonio Carluccio's Neal's Yard restaurant as a pastry chef. He, later on, moved to The River Café in Fulham where he worked as a sous chef. While here, he made an unscripted appearance in a BBC documentary 'Christmas at The River Café'. That appearance opened doors for him as two years later (1999), his cooking show 'The Naked Chef' debuted on BBC.

Career Accomplishments

Oliver's first breakthrough came in 1999 - the time his first cook show 'The Naked Chef' debuted on BBC. At the same time, he published a cookbook that became United Kingdom's #1 bestseller. This saw him getting an invite the Downing Street to prepare lunch for the then Prime Minister; Tony Blair. A year later, he was the face of Sainsbury's - a supermarket chain in the UK. The endorsement was worth $2 million per annum. The partnership lasted for eleven years. He is currently partnering with Sobeys - a Canadian supermarket chain as well as with Australian Woolworths. Since The Naked Chef on BBC, Oliver has done a documentary titled Jamie's Kitchen and four television series titled Jamie's Ministry of Food, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, Jamie's 15 Minute Meals and Jamie's School Dinners among others. Today, he is a proud owner of a chain of restaurants. The most notable ones are the Fifteen charity restaurants that train young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds. As of today, Jamie Oliver holds a number of awards, honors and recognitions such as being a Member of the Order of the British Empire, being 2005 most inspiring political figure, making it to the list of the richest Britons under 30, being awarded the 2010's TED Prize, being awarded an MBE in Queen's Birthday Honors, being awarded the 2012's Healthy Cup Award by Harvard School of Public Health and, being awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Royal College of General Practitioners.

Most Notable Works

Though Oliver is best known for his food-focused cookbooks and television shows, his global campaign that's geared towards better food education gained him more prominence. However, his most outstanding works include that of opening a high-street business venture 'Jamie's Italian' which today has a total of 35 restaurants in its collection. Jamie's Italian has been franchised globally and currently has branches in Australia, Turkey, UAE, Ireland, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Where Is He Now?

Oliver continues to host different cook TV shows, run a campaign for healthy eating patterns especially in schools, marketing different types of cookware and getting involved in charity work.