Jamie Oliver\'s quest continues at his new restaurant

It has been 13 years since Jamie Oliver first appeared on television screens with his relaxed attitude, egalitarian bish-bash-bosh cooking style and penchant for flowery shirts and the word pukka. Success quickly followed: in 2000, his television series The Naked Chef won a Bafta award, the accompanying book became a bestseller and the foundations for what has become a global empire were established. His numerous television shows (Jamie at Home, Jamie’s Kitchen, Jamie’s Great Italian Escape, Jamie’s Ministry of Food, to name a few) have been broadcast in more than 100 countries and his books have been translated into 40 languages. These days, Jamie Oliver is a brand name and it matters not whether you’re a dedicated fan who laps up every bit of merchandise on the market (Jamie Oliver tea towel anyone?) or one of the many who find that mockney accent a little grating, there is little denying that this man is a success. He is also, crucially, rather different to the average celebrity chef. In recent years, Oliver has embarked on a number of altruistic projects - from helping young, unemployed people to secure jobs in kitchens with The Fifteen Foundation, to setting up a Ministry of Food centre with the intention of teaching people to cook and pass the knowledge on. As well as being celebrated, he has been heavily criticised for these efforts. In 2004, he launched a campaign to improve the state of the food being served in UK schools (see the television series Jamie’s School Dinners). Although it was deemed a success – as a result of his Feed Me Better petition, the government pledged to spend an extra £280 million (Dh1.6bn) on stepping up the standard of school meals –  a number of parents revolted and footage of them attempting to pass banned junk food to their children through the iron bars of the school gates, no less, made headline news. More recently, his attempts to bring healthy eating to America in Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution were met with serious resistance, as residents of West Virginia (thought to be America’s fattest city) appeared not just uninterested, but hostile to his crusade. “I’m used to the criticism now, because you can never please everyone,” he says. “What motivates me is the knowledge that the world can be a better place and we can have an impact on the growing obesity crisis.” He adds that: “It just takes a bit of joined-up thinking, a bit of clever investment and people in power who really care about what they’re doing, as opposed to just fulfilling a role for a few years until another government comes along.” From a gourmet standpoint, however, is there not a small part of him that wonders what would have happened if he’d tested his mettle as a chef further, perhaps even perused Michelin stars? It turns out that in that regard, just as with the criticism, Oliver has no regrets. “No, not really. I do admire guys like Heston (Blumenthal) and Ferran (Adria), but that style of cooking has never been my style. I’d rather focus on great food that is accessible to larger numbers of people, than just one restaurant catering to a handful.” He is quick to point out that his various projects are intended to have a long future – one that some day he hopes will have an international scope. “I do think I’ll still be campaigning well into my old age,” he says. “At the moment, I’m focusing on the UK, Australia and the US, where I have ongoing educational movements like Ministry of Food, but of course I’m aware that we have a global problem. Hopefully we can reach a point where one of those three countries can act as a template for other countries, it would be brilliant if the UAE could embrace some of the inspirational things we’re learning.” While that may be a while away, the UAE is able to embrace the Jamie Oliver brand, thanks to the opening of Jamie’s Italian in Dubai’s Festival City last year. “Jamie’s Italian fits into pretty much any food scene,” he explains. “We’ve just opened in Sydney and the Australians have really taken it to their hearts, just as the British did. With Dubai, we thought long and hard about where to open but in the end, we found a great location and put a fantastic team together.”