Author(s): Gilly Smith

Cooking

By the age of eight, Jamie Oliver was already cooking in his parents' pub and restaurant in Essex. From Westminster Catering College, he went straight to the apron strings of Antonio Carluccio as his head pastry chef. Spotted in the kitchens of "The River Cafe", Jamie's cheeky chappy image won him his own TV series, "The Naked Chef", by the tender age of 22. A monster advertising deal with Sainsbury's was soon to follow, allowing Jamie and his mates - strewn through his series as effortlessly as he chucked herbs on his easy dishes - to come into our sitting rooms several times a night. We watched him marry his sweetheart, become a father twice, and chewed our fingernails with Jools in "Jamie's School Dinners", willing him to come home more often. His latest campaign," Jamie's Fowl Dinners", highlights the animal welfare implications for chickens of our constant demand for cheap food. The story of Jamie Oliver is the story of a culinary revolution.