Jamie: “I’m so lucky to have Jools”

After facing a turbulent time with his restaurant closures, renowned chef Jamie Oliver says his wife of 18 years has been his rock – and reveals he’s got a surprise for her!

He’s pioneered a campaign H against childhood obesity and spearheaded a drive to ban junk food ads, but Jamie Oliver was heavily criticised recently after his Italian restaurants were found to be serving meals full of fat and sugar. One chain even served burgers containing the entire daily 70g fat limit recommended by doctors, while a milkshake with six times the daily sugar limit was spotted on his website.

The well-loved chef, 43, who has been forced to close several of his restaurants recently and restructure his business after it racked up a reported £71.5 million of debt, says with a sigh, “Yeah, I’m not going to lie, it’s been tough. I’m proud, because ten years in the restaurant business is a very long time. Conditions are really different now from when we opened and it’s not easy for mid-market restaurants.”

AMAZING SUPPORT

But the TV star – who has Poppy, 16, Daisy, 15, Petal, nine, Buddy, eight, and one-year old River Rocket with wife Jools, 43 – is hoping to entice customers back with a new menu featuring perennial favourites such as ravioli, pizza, carbonara and a burger with a special secret sauce!

“I’d have to kill you if I told you the ingredients,” says Jamie with a grin, as he admits that his wife Jools has been his rock throughout.

The chef, who is worth around £150 million, adds, “Jools couldn’t be any cooler, kinder, sweeter or more loyal, so I’m lucky, thankfully. Normally I have radio silence [phone turned off] during family time, like evenings and weekends, but you can’t when the s**t hits the fan.

“Jools has been great at listening, but also knowing when I don’t want to talk about it and carving out space for me at home.”

But Jamie is still finding time to look after himself. He says he’s at his office gym at 5.30am most days, and he reveals he’s got a beauty routine, too.

STAYING YOUNG

He says, “Hell, yeah, I’ve been moisturising for the past five years or so, ever since I looked in the mirror one day and s**t myself! The funniest and worst thing that happens in everyday life is when you turn your phone on and you accidentally open up your front-facing camera, and you’re like, ‘S**t! Who is that?! Oh, it’s me.’

“So I use Clinique moisturiser on my celebrity face and then I’m a massive believer in olive oil for the body. Don’t shake your head in disapproval! You just rub it in vigorously – it’s what the Romans used to do and it’s what I did with River and Petal and Buddy. Why spend a fortune on creams when extra virgin olive oil is the purest thing? My legs are all lovely softness.”

And despite being known for his cleancut image, Jamie says he’s got a little something in store for Jools.

“I won’t tell Jools, it’ll be a surprise!” says Jamie. “I’m going to get a tattoo done by an artist called Dr Woo, who Fearne Cotton put me on to. Now, I know tattoos are not made for my generation – I’m not a hipster and I don’t have a beard – but I want one now.

“My erotic side is thinking about having it done on my inner thigh or buttocks, but Jools wouldn’t like that. She’d give me a slap! So I’m thinking maybe the inner arm – I’d have something profound, a little bit hippy and philosophical. I just don’t know what yet.”

Despite his own desire for a tattoo, Jamie would draw the line at his teenagers, Daisy and Poppy, visiting Dr Woo.

“Tattoos are not for gorgeous young people, but they’re fine once you’re on the turn, like me! What’s the point in keeping your body pristine?” he laughs.

GETTING BOTOX

But while other male celebrities and Jamie’s fellow chef and arch nemesis Gordon Ramsay, 51, appear to have had more invasive cosmetic procedures, would Jamie?

“I haven’t had Botox,” replies Jamie. “The first thing you learn when you go to catering college is that botulinum (the toxin in Botox) is a dangerous thing, so I’m too scared to have it. I’m worried it’ll come back and bite me in the ass some day!”

The new summer menu is available at Jamie’s Italian restaurants now. See www.jamieoliver. com/italian