Jamie Oliver trivia | 40 facts about the famous chef

People who cook are very special, and Jamie Oliver is one of them for sure, since he’s a famous chef.

How many things do we know about him though? Well, if not so much, then let’s find out more about him!

1. His full name is Jamie Trevor Oliver.
2. He was born on the 27th of May in 1975 in a village near Essex.
3. He is a British chef and restaurateur.
4. His parents, Trevor and Sally Oliver ran a pub/restaurant.
5. The family pub’s name was The Cricketers.
6. The Cricketers was the first place where he practiced cooking in the kitchen with his parents.
7. He has one sibling, sister Anne-Marie.
8. Jamie Oliver was educated at Newport Free Grammar School.
9. He left school at the age of sixteen with two GCSE qualifications in Art and Geology
10. He took the bold decision to attend Westminster Technical College now Westminster Kingsway College.
11. He then earned a City & Guilds National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in home economics.
12. He is known for his approachable cuisine, which has led him to front numerous television shows and open many restaurants.
13. Oliver’s first job was a pastry chef at Antonio Carluccio’s Neal Street restaurant, where he first gained experience at preparing Italian cuisine.
14. It was there where he developed a relationship with his mentor Gennaro Contaldo.
15. Later in his career, Oliver employed Contaldo to help run his collection of high street restaurants, Jamie’s Italian.
16. Oliver moved to The River Café, Fulham as a sous-chef.
17. He was noticed there by the BBC in 1997, after making an unscripted appearance in a documentary about the restaurant, Christmas at the River Cafe.
18. He was noted by Patricia Llewellyn of Optomen.
19. So in 1999, the BBC aired his television show The Naked Chef.
20. This was followed by a first cookbook, which became a No. 1 UK bestseller.
21. His television work included a documentary, Jamie’s Kitchen, which gained him an invitation from Prime Minister Tony Blair to visit 11 Downing Street.
22. From June 2000, Oliver became the public face of the Sainsbury’s supermarket chain in the UK.
23. He criticized Sainsbury’s CEO Justin King when Oliver slammed the “junk” sold by supermarkets that ends up in the lunchboxes of millions of children.
24. In 2005, he opened a campaign, Feed Me Better, to introduce schoolchildren to healthier foods.
25. It was later backed by the government.
26. He was the owner of a restaurant chain, Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group, which opened its first restaurant, Jamie’s Italian, in Oxford in 2008.
27. he chain went into administration in May 2019.
28. He is also a TED Speaker- and one of the best!
29. His TED Talk won him the 2010 TED Prize.
30. In August 2013, Oliver and Canadian supermarket chain Sobeys announced a partnership in improving nationwide nutrition and advertising campaigns.
31. In October 2013, he began a partnership with the Australian chain Woolworths Supermarkets on a series of better nutrition initiatives and advertising campaigns.
32. In January 2016, Oliver and HelloFresh, an international meal kit subscription service, announced a partnership to incorporate his recipes to the weekly subscription deliveries.
33. Customers receive one recipe written by Jamie Oliver with all the exact ingredients and steps for the dish.
34. HelloFresh also agreed to the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation per Meal Box in addition to supporting other Foundation activities.
35. In September 2018, Oliver created a series of recipes and tips for Tesco and participated in the promotion of the company’s food products
36. In June 2003, Oliver was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire.
37. In July 2000, Oliver married former model and writer Juliette Norton.
38. They have five children.
39. Oliver has severe dyslexia, and read his first novel (Catching Fire) in 2013, at the age of 38.
40. In 2015, Oliver told The Times magazine that he had lost 2 stone in three months by changing his diet and getting enough sleep.