Jamie Oliver has found himself at the centre of many famous feuds over the years. Yet, surprisingly, he has little ill will about any of them.
In a new interview for The Louis Theroux Podcast, the acclaimed English chef and cookbook author spoke candidly about his beef with fellow celebrity chef and this year’s MasterChef guest judge Gordon Ramsay – and what led to them finally burying the hatchet.
FORCED TO INVERVENE
While Jamie admits he can’t even remember what started the whole thing now, British-American documentarian Louis Theroux, 54, recalled it stemming from Gordon, 58, body shaming Jamie by referring to him as a “fat f**k”.
“I was always a big admirer of his… He was doing great things at Royal Hospital Road. He was the protege of Marco [Pierre White] and was killing it,” Jamie, 49, said. “We got on very well in the beginning. And then as we got into the kind of TV careers, I think probably… he just bit.”
The notoriously cheeky Brit admitted he purposely antagonised the famously fiery restaurateur.
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“I generally used to bite once a year and that used to set him off for another year,” he recalled. “I didn’t have anything against him, but… it was serving its purpose for him. I mean, I’d have to ask Gordon what it was all about, ’cause we never fell out, we got on for the first couple of years and as he did more TV, it just went on and on and on. And it was painful.”
Indeed, it wasn’t just painful for the pair, but also for their families. With their kids having grown up together, close in age – Jamie and Jools have five kids, while Gordon and Tana have six children – they’d naturally formed a bond. When they couldn’t take it any longer, Jamie’s wife, Jools, and Gordon’s wife, Tana, both 50, were forced to intervene.
“In the end, actually, it was Jools and his [Gordon’s] wife, Tana, that sorted it out. Because they’ve got growing kids – Gordon’s got a gorgeous wife and kids, they’re amazing – and we’ve seen them all grow up, and our kids have probably got so much in common, and they all talk on socials and everything anyway,” Jamie explained.
“And it was like, ‘Come on, Dads, grow up!’ So I think that both of us got a telling off and then we went to have a drink and put it all to rest and let bygones be bygones.”
BACK ON TRACK
Jamie revealed that Gordon was “very supportive, very kind” when his restaurants went bust, saying he “sent me messages” and their relationship has been back on track and in a good place for some time now.
“We are currently friends,” he confirmed. “We all get into ruts and trouble and say things we shouldn’t do, and I think the energy of the drink me and Gordon had was like, ‘Look, this is silly, let’s just put it behind us. Let’s just crack on.’ And I think I’d much prefer that place.
“And I also think just getting a bit older and wiser, I guess I’m experienced now, I’ve sort of seen it, smelt it, felt it. Hopefully I can make better decisions going forward based on learnings for
better or worse.”
