The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters 844: Global Food Activist and Bestselling Cookbook Author: Jamie Oliver
Feb 27, 2026
Jamie Oliver, restaurateur and bestselling cookbook author known for championing nutrition, reflects on growing up above a pub and learning at the River Cafe. He recounts becoming The Naked Chef, using his platform for public-health food campaigns, and practical ways to make veggies, tinned fish, and affordable swaps more appealing.
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Growing Up Above The Pub Shaped His Cooking
- Jamie learned to cook living above his dad’s pub, starting wash-up and making gnocchi at age ten.
- The kitchen was a full brigade with French-style departments and nightly menus mixing pub classics and French/Italian dishes.
River Cafe Taught Seasonal Menus And Intuition
- Working at the River Cafe exposed Jamie to daily-changing menus written twice a day based on what arrived that morning.
- Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray paid for the best ingredients and rejected hierarchy, teaching seasonal intuition and quality.
Women Cooks Offer A Different Culinary Logic
- Jamie credits female cooks for a nourishing, process-driven perspective that contrasts male-focused craft and control.
- He learned empathy, thrift (using whole animals), and a different culinary logic from Rose and Ruthie.
