Posted on 03/25/2015 10:15:14 PM PDT by dennisw
Jamie is believed to have left school at the age of 16 as an undiagnosed dyslexic with just two GCSEs before finding fame after an impromptu appearance in a 1997 BBC documentary about London's The River Café, where he was working at the time.
With his fortune estimated at a staggering $450 million, he is one of the richest celebrity chefs in the world.
And on Thursday morning Jamie Oliver lamented on his rags to riches story as he spoke about how he feels that the public is his boss on Australian breakfast show, Sunrise.
Still very aware of his humble beginnings, the cockney chef spoke to presenters David Koch and Samantha Armytage about how he suddenly became rich very quickly back in the late Nineties.
It was soon after this that Jamie, who used to practice cooking at his parents pub The Cricketers, in Essex, was offered his own TV show and became a household name with his The Naked Chef series.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I won’t say much for his TV skills, but I really do like his food.
And I think he has made a real difference in getting the idea of improving school food on the radar in the UK, and without the heavy handed approach that is being seen in the US with Mrs Obama.
Even being a former president of the United States isn't enough to guarantee a table at Jamie Oliver's landmark London restaurant Fifteen, it appears.
Bill Clinton was reportedly turned away from the television chef's restaurant because it was full and staff refused to bump other patrons with a booking.
Fifteen, which is staffed by rookie chefs recruited and trained by Oliver in the television program Jamie's Kitchen, is so popular diners have to book three months in advance.
The former US president wanted to visit the restaurant during a recent visit to London and a staff member rang Fifteen on a Thursday, seeking a booking for the following Saturday night.
"It was impossible because that's the restaurant's busiest night," an unnamed staff member told British newspaper The Daily Mirror.
"It would have meant cancelling a booking of other guests who made reservations weeks ago and that just wouldn't be fair.
"If we're full we're full, and there's nothing that can be done about it - even if it is for the former president of the United States."
Fifteen is booked out at night until 2004.
And that was just the first of two times that Clinton was turned away (the other time they turned up with more people than they had booked for and didn't like the menu). A spokesman for Oliver confirmed that Clinton had been turned away. "Jamie was sorry the restaurant was unable to accommodate Mr Clinton, but his attitude was c'est la vie," he said. "Mr Clinton is of course more than welcome to come back at any time but he will have to give the restaurant a bit more notice."
I visited his restaurant in the Westfield mall when I was in London a few years ago. It was ok. Not pricey.
If Jamie the Millionaire Cook turns Mooch& Obola away a couple of times and publicly chuckles about it, he’s got a new American fan right here!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.