As a nice change of pace and to add some variety to my blog I’ll be talking (technically it’s writing, but whatever) about the story of Jamie Oliver’s life.

Born on the 27th of May, 1975, Jamie took an early interest in food. Jamie grew up in Essex, where his parents Trevor and Sally still run their own highly respectedpub/restaurant The Cricketeers in Clavering, and where he was often found helping out in the kitchens. His fascination for food continued to grow, and at the age of 16, Jamie left school and completed his training at Westminister Catering College. Later, he worked in France learning as much as he could before returning to London. His first job back was working for Antonio Carluccio as Head Pastry Chef at The Neal Street Restaurant: one of the best Italian restaurants in England. Here Jamie worked alongside Gennaro Contaldo, who Jamie considers one of his mentors. After The Neal Street Restaurant, Jamie worked 3 and a half years at the famous River Cafe in London. It was here, where he learnt “all about the time and effort that goes into creating the freshest, most honest, totally delicious food”, Jamie says.  The River Cafe was also his big break into television. The day after appearing in a documentary about the restaurant called Christmas at the River Cafe, five television production companies contacted Jamie about starring in his own show. He accepted an offer from Optomen Television to produce his first show The Naked Chef. (The title is a reference to the simplicity of his recipes.)
Jamie’s Kitchen was Jamie’s second TV show. The show is a documentary that follows Jamie as he mentors 15 unemployed youths. Jamie trains the youngsters to be professional chefs and also help staff his first restaurant: Fifteen.

Later, Jamie would film another charitable project, Jamie’s School Dinners. This four part series shows Jamie as he takes responsibility of running the kitchen at Kidbrooke School, Greenwich. It also showcases the Feed Me Better campaign, his plan to change the poor eating habits of children and improve school meal systems. The campaign was directly responsible for the British government’s pledge of 280 million pounds to improve school dinners.

In 2000, Jamie’s energy and lovable character made him advertising gold for Sainsbury’s, which signed a deal worth £2 million a year with Jamie, making him the face of the supermarket. Over the years, he has appeared in numerous campaigns urging the nation to eat healthy by taking advantage of the chain’s grocery and food options.

In July 2000, Oliver married former model Juliette Norton. The couple met each other in 1993 and they have four children right now: Poppy Honey Rosie Oliver (born 18 March 2002), Daisy Boo Pamela Oliver (born on 10 April 2003), Petal Blossom Rainbow Oliver (born on 3 April 2009) and Buddy Bear Maurice Oliver (born on 15 September 2010). Jamie announced the births of the two youngest children on Twitter. The family lives in Clavering, Essex, at the moment.

Jamie’s career as an author received a boost in 2010 when it was revealed that he had reached a new milestone that made him the biggest-selling author in the country after Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling. UK sales of his cookbooks exceeded the £100 million mark in November.

I AM JAMIE OLIVER JR.

In January 2010, it was announced Jamie Oliver would do a commercial for the I AM Nikon commercial. The commercial was broadcast in Europe and South-Africa only.

Jamie himself, uses the Nikon D3100 shown in the commercial too in his free time. In the commercial, Jamie is shown with a little girl trying to make one of his culinair creations, with that comes the text with “I AM Jamie Oliver Jr.”