Jamie Oliver says being ‘conceptually thick’ led to collapse of his restaurant empire

https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/jamie-oliver-thick-collapse-restaurant-empire-b1248415.html

by Rewindcasette

23 comments

  1. I went into one of his restaurants years ago with a mate, the prices were fucking extortionate and the food was mid at best.

  2. His restaurant failed because it’s basic shit pretending to be good at a high price.

  3. I had a steak at his place a while back. My ex wanted to go. They called it a sizzle steak or something. It was well prepared, I suppose, but it was small and was not a cut I would even call a steak. For what it cost, it should have been a hefty T-bone. I left hungry. Funnily enough, never went back.

  4. Surprise surprise, advocating healthy eating and serving microwave meals doesn’t go down well.

  5. ‘James Italian’ was one of the worse Resturant experiences I can remember. We left before deserts arrived due to the astoundingly bad food, service and vastly overpriced. We had refused to pay the majority of the bill and settled at 50%.

  6. He always seemed to be someone who would sell his ‘brand’ to anyone that wanted it. He had a range of lawn furniture at one point. 
    Cant really blame him since he seems to like being the talking head and he made a ton of money doing it.

  7. He comes across really poorly. He doesnt explain anything in detail. His empire cost 1000 people their jobs but he’s obviously fine, because he has book and endorsement deals. Being “bad at maths” doesnt wash with me. He couldn’t employ some people who were good at maths? This just comes across as weak damage control. 

  8. His name and abilities should be used as a perfect example of the definition, “being at the right place at the right time”, In my opinion. 

  9. Conceptually thick is a euphemism for greedy cant now is it?

  10. Any celebrity chef restaurant you go to is twice as expensive as the next best restaurant. That’s almost always the reason they go under

  11. Product market for. He should have focused on homely food at a reasonable price. That matched who he was appealing too

  12. He put £25m of his own money into a doomed business? I appreciate he wanted to keep the staff in a job, but christ – that must have been a significant part of his entire savings… he could have just opened another chain properly and re-hired the staff.

  13. Also failed because it was fucking awful food. Genuinely one of the worst restaurant meals I’ve ever had.

  15. For all his gaffes and blunders, I appreciate his sincerity in public reflection. I can not say the same of other celebrities, chef or otherwise

  16. Aren’t most these celebrity chain restaurants normally run by mba’s and shit. I would assume he would have very little input into actual operations.

  17. His one I went to bout 20byears ago was great… But then quality dipped as they expanded.

    Shame… Could prob have just had 5 or so and done well

  18. >“But and through my inability and it sounds like I’m being hard on myself, but I recognise it now through, you know, my inability to exercise the demons of like actually like maybe you’re not s**t at that and actually you can retrain that.”

    This is a sidenote but this is absolutely an AI transcription that someone hasn’t even bothered to check properly.

  19. Jamie Oliver built a brand largely around rustic home cooking yet Jamie’s Italian was by all accounts mediocre at best and bore little resemblance to that. From a chef and food lover’s point of view I don’t get how he could let that slide..

  20. I don’t dislike Jamie Oliver, but in an age where information is so readily available he just comes across as being utterly awful at his job.

    You can take shortcuts when there are only four channels, but nowadays you just can’t get away with it. The ingredients are available, the knowledge is there, and the experience is much better when authentic. The dude knows Italian cooking, but he’ll absolutely butcher recipes from other regions without a care in the world.

    His reinventions have only damaged his reputation also. 15 min meals that take 15 mins of prep alone won’t win fans. Taking cheap meal ideas as a concept away from those that made them popular as a format also isn’t a great look. His children’s book debacle is probably best left at that…

    I kinda wish that Jamie Oliver would step back from media empire management, and open a restaurant again. He should spend his days in the kitchen, showing he’s still got what it takes – and then take that knowledge back to media.

  21. Good, absolutely despise him for ruining my Irn Bru.

  22. Why does he always coming across so insufferably? He needs a better PR team…

  23. Is it reasonable to wonder if he was or is a donut from Essex that got big, advisers (I’d imagine there were some) told him to do things and it crumbles?

    I mean if I cooked a couple of hotdogs and then got massive I’m not gonna be able to run an empire. Or at least I won’t be qualified for such madness.

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