The Naked Chef: The Truth About How Jamie Oliver Became Famous

The truth about how Jamie Oliver became famous

Jamie made his first television debut on The Naked Chef, in 1999 at the age of 24. After the success of the show, Jamie was

The popularity of the show was said to be due to Jamie’s relaxed presentation style and easy to follow recipes. His mass appeal had young men tuning in for the show (a notoriously difficult market) with his outlandish jokes and casual style, for example, tearing up herbs rather than chopping them and barely measuring a thing.

Jamie was first noticed by the BBC when he appeared as a guest on Christmas at the River Cafe in 1997.

Naked Chef TV Show

The Naked Chef TV show, produced by BBC Two ran for three series plus three Christmas specials. Series 1 & 2 were filmed at Jamie’s home with each theme taking on a popular social occasion everything from a hen night to cooking for his then-girlfriend (now wife) Jools to babysitting his cousins. Series 3 was filmed in various locations were Jamie even cooked for Jamiroquai. He also successfully launched his first cookbook, The Naked Chef off the back of the show which quickly became a No. 1 UK bestseller.

You can catch-up on all of the episodes here.

When series three finished Jamie moved to Channel 4 and started Jamie’s Kitchen which followed his journey opening his restaurant Fifteen, which is said to have him noticed by Prime Minister Tony Blair who invited him to 10 Downing Street.

Since The Naked Chef came onto our screens in over 20 years ago, his popularity has exploded around the world. Jamie is best known for his work campaigning for disadvantaged youth, he has published 26 cookbooks, been the face of Woolworths in Australia and opened numerous restaurants around the world (Jamie’s restaurant chain went into administration in May 2019.)

Since his time on The Naked Chef, Jame has published the following cookbooks:

Something for the Weekend
The Naked Chef
The Return of the Naked Chef
Happy Days with the Naked Chef
Jamie's Kitchen
Jamie's Dinners
Jamie's Italy
Cook With Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook
Jamie's Little Book of Big Treats
Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life
Jamie's Ministry of Food: Anyone Can Learn to Cook in 24 Hours
Jamie's Red Nose Recipes
Jamie's America
Jamie does... Spain, Italy, Sweden, Morocco, Greece, France
Jamie's 30-Minute Meals
Jamie's Great Britain
Jamie's 15 Minute Meals
Save With Jamie
Jamie's Comfort Food
Everyday Super Food
Super Food Family Classics
Jamie Oliver's Christmas Cookbook
5 Ingredients - Quick & Easy Food
Jamie Cooks Italy (2018)
Jamie's Friday Night Feast (2019)
Jamie Oliver Ultimate Veg (October 22, 2019)

Lottie Dalziel

Lottie Dalziel, is a 4AM riser and coffee-addict who lives and breathes all things food. When she isn't reading up on the latest trends in sustainability or discovering ways to upcycle almost anything, you can find her by the beach, cooking up a storm or adding to her abundant (some would say out of control) plant collection.

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Naked Chef TV Show

Since his time on The Naked Chef, Jame has published the following cookbooks:

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