Jamie Oliver says he’s ‘grateful for second chances’ after being given an opportunity to partially reopen his Italian restaurant chain – seven years after its spectacular collapse.
The celebrity chef has reopening the doors of Jamie’s Italian with a 140-seater branch in the heart of London’s West End – with free pasta available for walk-in guests on opening day, March 9.
It’s an impressive return, given that Jamie’s Italian teetered on the edge of administration for more than a year, with millions of pounds in debt, before finally going bust in 2019, shutting down 22 restaurants and resulting in the loss of 1,000 jobs.
Three years later, the celebrity chef insisted the humiliating collapse of his restaurant chain, which left his company owing around £83million, was just a ‘minor blip’.
Speaking on Wednesday, Oliver, 50, admitted ‘life doesn’t always go the way you want it’ while reflecting in the dramatic implosion of his business – little more than a year before COVID-19 affected all customer facing businesses across the world.
‘I was, like, fairly young when I started it,’ he added during an appearance on the Chris Moyles Show.
Jamie Oliver says he’s ‘grateful for second chances’ after being given an opportunity to partially reopen his Italian restaurant chain – seven years after its spectacular collapse
‘And we started literally the same week of when we said that the British recession started, like, when I was 28. And I mean, in a way, it’s a bit like that now, isn’t it? A bit miserable out there.
‘I’ve just tried to train the staff to be joyful and like welcome people in, and its accessible food, accessible prices.’
Oliver also revealed her was ‘really excited and grateful’ to be back in the kitchen at Jamie’s Italian, after a lengthy absence.
He said: ‘Second chances, you know? Like, life doesn’t always go the way you want it.’
Speaking on Jamie Oliver: The Naked Chef Bares All about the crushing collapse of his beloved restaurant chain, the TV personality said: ‘It happens, and I would call it a minor blip really, in the vision and the dream. A very painful one. But definitely, I’m better for it.
‘We had thirteen amazing years and learned loads. I was a young man when I started, I’m much older and wiser now.’
Asked whether or not he had learned from the closure of his Italian restaurant chain, the TV personality said: ‘Yeah, for sure, and every other failure that I’ve had – which is about 50 per cent. But I’ve never been more rounded, I’ve never been more experienced.’
When Oliver was asked about the restaurant chain’s demise again last year, he admitted he got the ‘basics’ wrong because he is ‘conceptually thick’.
During an appearance on Davina McCall’s Begin Again podcast, Jamie opened up about navigating failure, admitting he struggled with his inability to understand maths.
He mused: ‘Sometimes I’ve failed, and I got all the hard bits right and I got the basics wrong because I spent a lifetime refusing to accept any responsibility around numbers and maths… I didn’t pass maths at school.
‘Conceptually within that, yeah, I’m thick. I have a negative view of myself when it comes to maths.
‘So when I lost my restaurants, you know, all the hard stuff we got right – all the stuff that most people struggle getting right, we got right. We were really good at the hard stuff – and it was really the basics.’
The celebrity chef has reopening the doors of Jamie’s Italian with a 140-seater branch in the heart of London’s West End – with free pasta available for walk-in guests on opening day
Speaking on Wednesday, Oliver admitted ‘life doesn’t always go the way you want it’ while reflecting in the dramatic implosion of his business
Poor online reviews are also believed to have contributed to the worsening reputation of Jamie’s Italian, as food delivery apps such as Uber Eats conquered the market, leaving the chef unable to save his struggling brand.
Josh Singh, who previously worked at Jamie’s Italian at the Bullring in Birmingham said: ‘In the early years it was a destination restaurant but I think over time the message got lost. The company started giving things away and turned into your average high street restaurant instead of a celebrity restaurant.
‘They opened restaurants all over the place and in places where you wouldn’t expect celebrity restaurants to be like villages and very small towns.’
An anonymous member of staff added: ‘It was getting too commercial and I felt under pressure to get customers seated and ordered and then out too quickly.
‘On busy nights it felt like a conveyor belt. Why pay £100 plus for a meal when you feel under pressure to eat it quickly? You might as well go to McDonalds.’
Oliver also revealed her was ‘really excited and grateful’ to be back in the kitchen at Jamie’s Italian, after a lengthy absence
In 2017, the restaurant chain lost almost £20million and was forced to close several of its branches.
It came close to bankruptcy in 2018, before the chef injected £12.7million of his savings into the business.
That year, he closed the last of his Union Jacks eateries and scrapped his magazine Jamie, which had been in print for almost 10 years. The father-of-five went on to describe that year as the worst of his life.
By 2018, Jamie’s Italian was struggling with debts of £71.5million. More than 600 people had lost their jobs earlier that year, when the chain said it would close 12 sites.
Now, the new branch of Jamie’s Italian, which is aiming to sell classic pasta dishes at accessible prices, is opening in partnership with Brava Hospitality Group, the team behind Prezzo Italian.
Oliver said of the opening: ‘I’m beyond excited to be opening Jamie’s Italian doors once again – it’s been quite the journey, but I’m truly humbled by the support you’ve shown us over the years.
‘And for those of you still holding onto a cheeky ‘borrowed’ napkin or an old-school gold card, bring it down and we’ll treat you to a free bowl of pasta or Ravioli Fritti – no questions asked.
‘And the free pasta? It’s my way of saying a massive thanks for sticking with us.’
Tune into The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X weekdays from 6:30am to 10:00am. Also available to stream on Global Player.
