Collapse fears ruined my 40th

Restaurant boss Jamie blames Brexit & ‘new High St’ for woes

JAMIE Oliver has told how the worry of his collapsing restaurant empire “ruined” his 40th birthday.

The entrepreneur said the celebration was overshadowed by fretting about what was happening to his business and how he was going to cope with it.

The revelation comes after 1,000 jobs were lost when Jamie’s Italian, Barbecoa and Fifteen went into administration earlier this year.

In a candid interview Jamie also blamed Brexit and a “changing high

street” for the problems that cost his business £29million in a single year.

But speaking to The Food Programme, due to air on BBC Radio 4 today, he said he is already planning new eateries.

Jamie, now 44, said: “My 40th birthday was ruined because of the cloud of, ‘Oh right, what’s happening here?” and working out the consequences. In a way, there is a massive sense of relief because I gave it my best, and I thought I was clever enough and big enough to fix it.”

In a two-part programme marking 20 years since he burst to stardom with The Naked Chef TV programme and books, Jamie said: “I’m fairly sure I’ve learnt valuable lessons that will allow me to do, possibly, some extraordinary things in the next 20 years in a very, very different way. I actually, weirdly, have a sense of gratitude for having seen the extraordinary best of it, and having had to live through the real worst of it.

He added: “The world changed, the high street changed, our competitors changed, and we looked less different to them as we did in the beginning.

“Then, when there’s that chain reaction, throw a bit of Brexit in, confidence goes and people’s habits changed.”

Despite his problems Jamie forked out £6million on a mansion in Essex with wife Jools and their five children.

PROBLEMS Jamie saw empire go