Jamie Oliver

Jamie Trevor Oliver was born May 27, 1975 in Clavering, Essex, England. Jamie grew up in Cambridge where his parents, Trevor and Sally, own a pub and restaurant called The Cricketers (still in business). When he was 8 years old, Jamie began working in his parent's restaurant. At age 11 Jamie could cut vegetables as well as any of the kitchen staff. In 1989, at the age of 14, Jamie formed the band Scarlet Division with composer/musician Leigh Haggerwood.

Jamie began attending the Westminster Catering College at the age of 16. Later, he worked in France learning as much as he could before returning to London. His first job back was working for Antonio Carluccio as Head Pastry Chef at The Neal Street Restaurant (one of the best Italian restaurants in England).

The River Cafe was also his big break into television. The day after appearing in a documentary about the restaurant called Christmas at the River Cafe, five television production companies contacted Jamie about starring in his own show. He accepted an offer from Optomen Television to produce his first show The Naked Chef. The title is a reference to the simplicity of his recipes. Two seasons of the show, which also aired in the U.S., were filmed in 1998 and 1999.

Aside from his many cookbooks, Jamie has a regular column in the Saturday Times Magazine, is a monthly editor of Marie Claire (UK), and is the food editor for Britain's GQ magazine.

In 1999, Jamie and his staff of 15 students were invited to 10 Downing Street to prepare lunch for the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who was entertaining the Italian Prime Minister. In June 2003, Jaimie was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to the Hospitality Industry.

The Family Man

On June 24, 2000 Jamie married his childhood sweetheart, Juliette (Jools) Norton. They have two daughters, Poppy Honey (born March 2002) and Daisy Boo (born April 2003).