S4 EP3: Jamie Oliver on public feuds, chopping his finger off on live TV, and his controversial jerk rice

The Louis Theroux Podcast

Spotify Studios

Comedy, Society & Culture, Arts

4.3 • 696 Ratings

🗓️ 28 January 2025

⏱️ 73 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, Louis is joined by celebrity chef and best–selling cookbook author, Jamie Oliver. Jamie tells Louis about his public feuds with Gordon Ramsey and Anthony Bourdain, chopping part of his finger off on live TV, and why his jerk rice caused such a stir. Plus, Louis provides some recipe tips… Warnings: Strong language, as well as discussion around food production that may upset some listeners. Visit spotify.com/resources for information and resources. Links/Attachments: TV Show: ‘The Naked Chef’ (1999) – BBC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-CeoHHDYw8 TV Show: ‘Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends’ (1998) – BBC (UK only) https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b006w7gn/louis-therouxs-weird-weekends Jamie’s Italian https://italian.jamieoliver-rg.com/ Book: Simply Jamie, Jamie Oliver (2024) https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/books/simply-jamie TV Show: ‘Jamie’s Kitchen’ (2002) – Channel 4 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0358844/ TV Show: ‘Jamie’s School Dinners’ (2005) – Channel 4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG66rKiNkw4 ‘Lads, Gak and Union Jacks: The Oral History of ‘Cool Britannia’’ - Vice https://www.vice.com/en/article/lads-gak-and-union-jacks-the-oral-history-of-cool-britannia/ Song: ‘Jiggle Jiggle’, Louis Theroux and Duke & Jones (2022) https://open.spotify.com/artist/016Rz5DsXUPPxosNTZLYcv TV Show: ‘Only Fools and Horses’ (1981 - 2003) – BBC (not available to watch) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006xthd Harvey’s, London (1987 – 1993) https://www.thegoodfoodguide.co.uk/editorial/GFG-archives/1988-to-1993-marco-pierre-white-at-harveys--six-years-that-inspired-a-new-generation-of-chefs# Book: White Heat, Marco Pierre White (1990) https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/products/white-heat-25-book-marco-pierre-white-9781845339906?price=27.00 Book: Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain (2000) https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/products/kitchen-confidential-book-anthony-bourdain-9781408845042?sku=NGR9781408845042&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAj9m7BhD1ARIsANsIIvBU0sOfPH6enBc2Qpztul1QXcMLLn8uut7WbtMgryXA3UkvNOMH3gEaAmMtEALw_wcB ‘Jamie Oliver’s Empire Collapses as 22 UK Restaurants Close’ – The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/may/21/jamie-oliver-jobs-administrators-restaurants-jamies-italian Book: The Naked Chef, Jamie Oliver (1999) https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/products/naked-chef-book-jamie-oliver-9780718143602?sku=GOR001223048&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAj9m7BhD1ARIsANsIIvD4Smq_BjCdfmuhtcCExQXMOuf2ipLA-EDglvrr5ithxbO71JFNRJkaAuKPEALw_wcB Bite Back 2030 https://www.biteback2030.com/ ‘I Was a Cookbook Ghostwriter’ – The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/dining/i-was-a-cookbook-ghostwriter.html#:~:text=Julia%20Turshen%2C%20who%20is%20writing,a%20culinary%20romp%20through%20Spain. Podcast: ‘Young Again with Kirsty Young’ - BBC Sounds https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001rgtq TV Show: ‘Jamie: Fast and Simple’ (2024) – Channel 4 https://www.channel4.com/programmes/jamie-fast-and-simple Credits: Producer: Millie Chu  Assistant Producers: Maan al-Yasiri and Emilia Gill Production Manager: Francesca Bassett  Music: Miguel D’Oliveira  Audio Mixer: Tom Guest Video Mixer: Scott Edwards Shownotes compiled by Immie Webb Executive Producer: Arron Fellows     A Mindhouse Production for Spotify  www.mindhouse.co.uk  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Three, two, one.
0:08.4	Hello, Louis Thruh here, and welcome to my podcast called Amazingly and Creatively the Louis Thruh
0:14.9	podcast. I had to look down just to remember.
0:23.6	Today I'm speaking to chef, businessman, entrepreneur, activist, campaigner, and best-selling cookbook author Jamie Oliver.
0:32.1	Jamie's been a mainstay of our screens for over 20 years since he shot to fame in 1999 following the success of his first
0:38.5	TV show The Naked Chef. I well remember it because I had just shot to a lower stratosphere
0:46.1	of success and fame with my own TV show, Weird Weekends, the previous year, 1998. And I remember
0:52.7	thinking, wow, he's way more successful and famous than I am.
0:58.4	And I was ever so slightly, if I'm honest, what's the word?
1:04.5	Jealous?
1:05.2	Tiny bit.
1:06.0	Yeah, a bit bruised.
1:07.2	Maybe I haven't put that quite right, but it was just definitely a sense of like,
1:10.1	oh, wow, that's what success with a TV show really looks like.
1:14.4	You know, he's a titan of obviously not just TV presenting, but his business is a massive.
1:22.5	And I always sort of wondered what it was that he had, like his ability not just to obviously cook
1:27.6	and to communicate on screen, but also in a seemingly effortless way build an empire,
1:33.4	an international globe-bestriding restaurant cookbook, live show empire.
1:44.4	At its peak, Jamie had 42 Jamie's Italian restaurants in the UK.
1:49.9	From his 28 cookbooks, he sold over 50 million copies.
1:54.2	He's the second best-selling British author behind J.K. Rowling.
1:58.3	And the best-selling British non-fiction author since records began,
	...

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