I’ve been pretty miserable, says Jamie Oliver (whose empire’s worth £150m)
HE’S built up a £ 150million empire during his hugely- successful career through restaurants, TV shows and books.
But Jamie Oliver has revealed that he wouldn’t wish his ‘lonely’ job on anyone else.
The 42-year- old admitted he has felt ‘pretty miserable’ at times and says he feels blue once a year.
He said: ‘When you’re truly happy, I don’t think that you’re pushing yourself. But I’ve been pretty miserable. It isn’t nice. I don’t know if I’d prescribe my career to anyone else. I don’t say I have regrets, but it’s complex.’
He added: ‘It’s quite a lonely place. It still does get to me about once a year. I do wobble. I’m pretty tough, but I’m human.’
The father of five said his job – which he says is ‘to be at war with processed food and takeaways’ – can be overwhelming at times. Speaking to The Radio Times, he said: ‘The public only see one third of what I actually do for a job.’ He added: ‘The Press will beat the s**t out of me until they feel sorry for me. Then they’ll build me back up again.’
Oliver, who found fame through the television series The Naked Chef in 1999, recently released his 20th book – Five Ingredients: Quick and Easy Food. Two years ago Oliver became the second British author, after JK Rowling, to sell more than £150million worth of books. The chef, who also has an empire of 36 Jamie’s Italian restaurants in the UK, has been with his wife Jools since they fell in love aged 17. Meanwhile, Oliver, whose fifth child River Rocket was born last year, has finally said he wants to make peace with Gordon Ramsay, admitting that their eightyear spat is childish.
Oliver likened their famous feud – which began in 2009 when Oliver stuck up for a journalist whose appearance Ramsay had criticised – to a playground tussle. The row
‘My career is quite a lonely place’
came to a head in October, when Ramsay, 51, whose wife Tana suffered a miscarriage at five months last year, accused Oliver of ‘judging’ him for having four children, compared to Oliver’s five. But Oliver said: ‘What I said was fairly grownup and reasonable.’
Asked why they continue to attack one another, Oliver said: ‘I don’t think he liked me taking the high ground. I think that’s basically it. So, I’m going to take the high ground now and say I wish him all the best, and all success. Good luck to him. But we have both got kids, and I don’t know what sort of example we’re setting if we’re arguing like we’re in the playground.’ The row over family size began in March when Ramsay, presented ITV’s The Nightly Show in which he called his rival ‘fat’.
Asked about this by The Sun in August, Oliver responded that ‘he’s got four kids and I’ve got five kids, and I don’t want to be slagging off some kids’ dad on telly. It’s not nice.’