Oliver, Jamie (1975– )

English celebrity chef and television personality. Known for his cheeky, irreverent style, down-to-earth approach, and boyish humour, he became popular for his BBC television series The Naked Chef (1998–99), which promoted simple cooking with fresh foods, and the Naked Chef series of cookbooks which followed.

After The Naked Chef, he filmed Jamie's Kitchen, a documentary on Channel 4 about training disadvantaged people as chefs to work in his restaurant Fifteen, opened in 2002. These and other series, including Oliver's Twist, became internationally successful. His cookbooks have been bestsellers in several countries and have been translated into more than 20 languages. He has also written columns for a variety of media, including the UK's Saturday Times magazine and GQ magazine.

He was born and grew up in Essex, where from a young age he worked in the kitchen of his father's pub, The Cricketers, in Clavering. After attending Westminster Catering College and apprenticing in France, he returned to London and became head pastry chef of the Neal Street Restaurant in Covent Garden. While working at the River Café, he first appeared on television, in a documentary about the restaurant. His cheeky manner impressed several agents, who soon approached him about creating his own cooking programme.