James Trevor Oliver (born 27 May 1975) is an English celebrity chef, restaurateur and writer. Known for his casual approach to cuisine, Oliver has fronted many television shows, opened numerous restaurants, developed a wide range of food products, and written best-selling cookbooks. Oliver rose to prominence with the BBC Two series The Naked Chef (1999–2001). In 2005, Oliver started a campaign, Feed Me Better, to introduce schoolchildren to healthier foods, which was later backed by the government. He was the owner of a restaurant chain, Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group, which opened its first restaurant, Jamie's Italian, in 2008. The chain went into administration in May 2019. As an author, Oliver had sold more than 50.6 million books, with over 32 titles published worldwide. Oliver was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) at the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to the hospitality industry. His TED Talk won him the 2010 TED Prize. In 2019, he was awarded the Order of the Star of Italy with the rank of Knight.
Early life James Trevor Oliver was born on 27 May 1975 in Clavering, Essex, where he was also raised. His parents, Trevor and Sally (née Palmer) Oliver, ran a pub and restaurant, the Cricketers, where he practised cooking in the kitchen with his parents. He has a sister, and was educated at Newport Free Grammar School, in Newport. He left school at the age of 16 with two GCSE qualifications in art and geology and went on to attend Westminster Technical College (now Westminster Kingsway College). He earned a City & Guilds National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in home economics.
Career
Oliver's first job was a pastry chef at Antonio Carluccio's Neal Street restaurant, where he first gained experience at preparing Italian cuisine, and developed a relationship with his mentor Gennaro Contaldo; later in his career Oliver employed Contaldo to help run his chain of high street restaurants, Jamie's Italian. Oliver moved to the River Cafe in Fulham, as a sous-chef. He was noticed there by the BBC in 1997, after making an unscripted appearance in the documentary Christmas at the River Cafe. In 1999, Oliver's BBC Two show The Naked Chef debuted, and his cookbook became a bestseller in the United Kingdom. That same year, he was invited to prepare lunch for Prime Minister Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street. After three series of Naked Chef programmes (The Naked Chef, Return of the Naked Chef and Happy Days with The Naked Chef) for the BBC, Oliver moved to Channel 4 in 2002, following BBC Two's decision not to renew his contract with the network, after Oliver had appeared in similarly themed TV cookery advertisements for Sainsbury's supermarket. His first Channel 4 series was a documentary, Jamie's Kitchen, which began in November 2002, and followed the setting up of Fifteen restaurant in London. Oliver's holding company, Jamie Oliver Holdings Ltd., earned enough for Oliver to be listed on The Sunday Times list of richest Britons under 30 in 2005. Oliver's net worth was estimated in 2014 at £240 million. A decade later, his net worth was estimated at £173 million. Oliver was chosen by Disney Pixar to provide the voice of the health inspector in the UK version of Ratatouille. In December 2009, Oliver received the 2010 TED Prize. He hosted Jamie's 15 Minute Meals on Channel 4, which aired for 40 episodes in 2012.
Restaurants
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