Jamie Oliver's Transformation Is Seriously Turning Heads

Few chefs can boast a cooking empire quite like Jamie Oliver. With over 30 successful TV shows under his belt, dozens of cookbooks, a chain of restaurants, and even an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire award, for those of us on this side of the pond), he is undoubtedly one of the world's best-known food personalities. And if that weren't enough, Oliver has also dedicated himself to campaigning for the end of childhood obesity (via You).

For anyone interested in food, Oliver certainly seems to rule supreme. In fact, these days, he's pretty much everywhere! However, this wasn't always the case. Oliver's journey has certainly had its ups and downs — and he's definitely transformed since his early, carefree Naked Chef days. These days, he's "less indie pop star and more harassed overseer of a culinary empire," noted the interviewer in You. It's clear that the food star has grown up. But what exactly happened to Oliver over the years to make this transformation come about?

Jamie Oliver's parents didn't just teach him about the importance of having a strong work ethic. They also taught him about working with food from a very early age. As Oliver explained to Flow, "I was really good with the knife [at age 5], and to be honest, I cooked up some really good grub, even as a kid." We're hardly surprised that this famous chef showed signs of being talented with food early on.

And according to Oliver's mom, he really was talented. As she told Penguin UK, he grew up eager to help out at the family pub. "We had chefs working in the kitchen who gave easy jobs to him and I think it made him feel really grown up — he thought he was 'one of the boys,'" she recalled. It sounds like Oliver really was destined to work with food!

Unlike some other multimillion dollar TV stars, Jamie Oliver doesn't have a scandalous dating history. In fact, he settled down with his childhood sweetheart. As his wife Jools explained to Made By Mammas, the pair met when they were still teenagers. "When I first met him he was a drummer and that's what got me, rock star image you know!" she recalled fondly. She also revealed, "He was quite popular so I thought, 'I want a piece of that', and he was very cool and the man about town" (via Hello!). Apparently, the couple have been going strong ever since. Sounds like Jools and Oliver were smitten from day one.

In 2019, Oliver shared a lovely throwback image of his wife on Instagram for her 45th birthday. He wrote, "She's a wonderful, kind, extraordinary person who I'm so proud to call my wife and she's still smoking." It's so sweet to see how Oliver's long relationship has been a constant throughout his life.

After his fluke appearance cooking on the BBC, Jamie Oliver was quickly offered a more permanent TV role. In fact, by 1999, he'd been given his very own cooking show, The Naked Chef. As one interview from The Guardian recalled, he was an incredibly likeable, easy-going guy in those days. "His whole shtick was that he was truly impossible to dislike," the interviewer said. He was also unaffected by his newfound fame. "There was no front to him, no armour," she went on.

Despite Oliver's easy-going nature, it's clear that big things were coming for the young TV star. The same year as this show debuted, he also released a cookbook, which quickly became a bestseller. He was even invited to cook for the UK's prime minister at the time, Tony Blair (via New York Times). There's no doubt about it — 1999 was a huge turning point in the young chef's career.

Even though Jamie Oliver's career was definitely only getting better and better, it turns out, the pressure was actually becoming a little too much for the young star. In 2010, he opened up to Radio 5 about the pressures of public life and constant filming. Apparently, his busy schedule meant that he became a "weekend dad," leaving his wife to care for their kids. According to The Telegraph, Oliver had previously said that he planned on quitting public life by 2008. However, his fame grew and he kept on working.

As Oliver revealed in the interview, his marriage was definitely suffering as a result of his fame. "There's a natural sort of tempo to having a relationship," he said, "and it's not brilliant all the time but it goes through lovely cycles." He even revealed that they sometimes "can't stand each other." It sounds like his fame came with both good and bad sides.

While fame brought relationship problems for Jamie Oliver, it also brought more personal problems, too. In a candid interview The Guardian, the superstar chef confessed that fame had the bizarre effect of making him feel less understood. "No one understands me. No one," he said bluntly. "My wife doesn't even understand me in terms of what I want to do." As Oliver explained, with fame came lots of press — and with press, came a lot of assumptions about his motives. "Everyone thinks everything's about money," he went on. He explained that most people seemed to assume he did what he did for the monetary rewards –however, for Oliver, his work was more about making a difference.

In fact, it seems that Oliver is well aware of how plenty of members of the public see him. "There's still lots of people who don't like me," he said in the interview. "You can tell that if you go on any blog. I annoy lots of people." Sounds like Oliver understands that with fame comes a lot of misinterpretation.

One thing about Jamie Oliver is crystal clear — he works incredibly hard. However, over the years, the famous chef has learned to slow down a little and pace himself. As he explained to Balance in 2018, at the beginning of his career, Oliver used to struggle with getting enough sleep. "I went through six years of about three hours sleep, just working too hard," he confessed. However, eventually, this lifestyle became too difficult to maintain.

"I went through a revelation," he explained, "and over the last eight years have started spending time with sleep scientists." By 2018, he was getting around six hours of sleep a night — which, according to Oliver "is on the cusp of acceptable." Apparently, his sleep was so bad, he decided to make sleep his main priority. It's clear that his improved sleep has helped him find more balance in his life. And no wonder — he must have been exhausted!

In addition to his new overseas ventures, Jamie Oliver has other big plans for the future. These days, his quest to end childhood obesity is his main concern. As he told Balance in 2018, "I have made a decision to go all out for the next 12 years to things where they should be." He added, "And then, I will happily f***ing retire."

He explained that while he had considered leaving his grueling work behind to see more of his five kids, he is determined to see his campaign through. And it's a mission he feels proud of. As he put it, "I like to think that I'm not mad and if I fail while trying, that's not bad. I'd like to think we are doing the right thing at the right time." It sounds like Oliver's very best work is yet to come. One thing's for sure — he will leave behind an incredible legacy when he finally decides to call it quits.