Jamie Oliver: My life is like wrestling an octopus

With so much to handle, Oliver, who claims his life is akin to ‘wrestling an octopus’, says the secret to his success is gathering like-minded people around him, such as deputy Louise Holland and Jamie’s Italian managing director Simon Blagden.

He goes on to claim that while ‘there’s (no one) in the country that has to do the shit I have to do,’ the privilege of being a celebrity chef has both ‘massive strengths and massive weaknesses’.

In a frank interview with BigHospitality’s Becky Paskin, filmed as the chef’s London BBQ restaurant Barbecoa opened in October 2010, Oliver reveals how he manages to stay ‘good, proficient and profitable’ in his career, his thoughts on the British restaurant industry and perceived animosity between chefs, and why restaurateurs have a responsibility to the British public to help control the ‘obesity epidemic’.