James Trevor "Jamie" Oliver, MBE (born 27 May 1975), sometimes known as The Naked Chef, is a British chef, restaurateur, and media personality, known for his food-focused television shows, cookbooks and more recently his campaign against the use of processed foods in national schools. He strives to improve unhealthy diets and poor cooking habits in the United Kingdom and the United States. Jamie Oliver's speciality is Italian cuisine, although he has a broad international repertoire.
Jamie Oliver was brought up in Clavering, Essex, England . His parents ran a pub, "The Cricketers", where he used to practice in the kitchen. He was educated at Newport Free Grammar School. He left school at age sixteen without qualifications and went on to attend Westminster Catering College. His first job was as a pastry chef at Antonio Carluccio's Neal's Yard restaurant, where he first gained experience of Italian cuisine. Oliver then moved to The River Café, Fulham, as a sous chef, where 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. He is also Dyslexic.
In 2009 Oliver claimed to be of partial Sudanese ancestry via his great-great grandfather John, whom he described as “a bit swarthy with curly hair” . However, research for the Sunday Express established that John's father James was a hatter from Penzance, and James' father Richard was also Cornish, leaving little to no possibility of a Sudanese connection. The family legend of Sudanese ancestry may have originated in the 19th Century when John Oliver returned from sea, possibly with a tanned complexion after visiting Africa.
In 2000, Oliver became the face of the UK supermarket chain Sainsbury's through an endorsement deal worth £2 million a year.
Putting up his house as collateral without telling his wife, Oliver created the Fifteen Foundation 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.
In 2003, he was awarded an MBE.
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.
His emphasis on cooking healthily continued as he created Jamie's Ministry of Food, a television series where Oliver travelled to inspire everyday people in Rotherham, Yorkshire to cook healthy meals. Another television series is Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution (2009), where he travels to Huntington, West Virginia to change the way Americans eat and address their dependence on fast food.
Oliver's holding company, Sweet As Candy, has made enough profit for Oliver to have been listed on The Sunday Times list of richest Britons under 30.
It was reported in October 2009 that Oliver is in the process of raising $22 million to help fund 30 of his Italian restaurants in Asia.
In December 2009, Oliver received the 2010 TED Prize.
The Happy Days Live tour was Oliver's first live show in 2001 and included several dates in the UK and Australasia. Performing to sold-out venues, he cooked on stage and interacted with the audiences with competitions, music and special effects only usually seen in pop concerts. He took the audiences by surprise by singing and drumming to a song called Lamb Curry written by his longtime friend Leigh Haggerwood. Oliver appears at the BBC good food show each year and took to the road once more in 2006 on an Australian tour where he performed in Sydney and Melbourne. Following the entertaining format of his first live show, the 2006 Australian tour featuring special guests including mentor Gennaro Contaldo, and students from Fifteen London. Oliver also performed a new song written by Leigh Haggerwood called Fish Stew which Jamie cooked to and also drummed along to at the end of the show. The shows were a great success and are featured in a one-off TV documentary called Jamie Oliver: Australian Diary. (source : en.wikipedia.org)
Visit Sotokan for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection
No comments:
Post a Comment