Jamie Oliver discusses collapse of his restaurant empire

Jamie Oliver has emotionally discussed the collapse of his restaurant empire and his hopes to start afresh with new eateries in an  interview on The Graham Norton Show.

Oliver’s chains Fifteen, Jamie’s Italian and Barbecoa went into administration in May, with more than 20 restaurants shutting and 1,000 jobs lost as a result. 

In an episode set to air on Saturday, the celebrity chef, 44, detailed what went wrong and how he recovered from the loss of a empire he had built up over 13 years.

Tough times: Jamie Oliver has emotionally discussed the collapse of his restaurant empire and his hopes to start afresh with new eateries in an interview on The Graham Norton Show

He said: ‘It was 13 years of hard work and Fifteen was my baby, but I ran out of money, ran out of everything and it was really tough, but you have to crack on and try to get yourself together. 

‘I’ve had the best of it – I don’t know anyone who had it better than me – and I’ve had the worst of it – that’s life. You have to focus it to a positive.’ 

Asked if he plans to open more restaurants in the future, the star said he would wait to assess the impact of Brexit before committing to anything- and cited the problems faced by high street businesses.  

He said: ‘Absolutely I’ll think about it, but not until after Brexit and after the high street has sorted itself out. 

Over: Oliver's chains Fifteen, Jamie's Italian and Barbecoa went into administration in May, with more than 20 restaurants shutting and 1,000 jobs lost as a result

Over: Oliver’s chains Fifteen, Jamie’s Italian and Barbecoa went into administration in May, with more than 20 restaurants shutting and 1,000 jobs lost as a result

‘If you run a business in this country, there has been no good news for anybody for five years. It’s been tough and there is a lot of mess to sort out.’

In May all but three of Oliver’s UK restaurants were closed down when the business went into administration.  

Some parts of the restaurant empire still exist in the form of 65 international sites in 25 countries, as well as Fifteen Cornwall which is run as a franchise by a local food foundation. 

Oliver’s other business activities include his partnerships with firms such as Shell and Tesco.

The Jamie Italian brand now only operates in the UK via a franchise at Gatwick Airport.   

Candid: In an episode set to air on Saturday, the celebrity chef, 44,said: 'It was 13 years of hard work and Fifteen was my baby, but I ran out of money, ran out of everything and it was really tough, but you have to crack on and try to get yourself together'

Candid: In an episode set to air on Saturday, the celebrity chef, 44,said: ‘It was 13 years of hard work and Fifteen was my baby, but I ran out of money, ran out of everything and it was really tough, but you have to crack on and try to get yourself together’

In August Oliver broke down as he visited Fifteen in east London, which he opened in 2002, as part of Channel 4 documentary Jamie Oliver: The Naked Chef Bares All.

Both he and presenter Davina McCall became emotional as he talked her through what went wrong with his empire and the stress he had been under since. 

Talking about the failures, he said he was ‘naive’ and ‘didn’t know’ how to run a business successfully.

He told McCall: ‘To survive in this industry is tough. I was very naïve.

‘I was good at running one restaurant. I opened lots of big restaurants and people like small restaurants and we sort of had these big cathedrals we couldn’t fill.’

First venture: In an episode set to air on Saturday, the celebrity chef, 44, detailed what went wrong and how he recovered from the loss of a empire he had built up over 13 years (pictured 2003)

First venture: In an episode set to air on Saturday, the celebrity chef, 44, detailed what went wrong and how he recovered from the loss of a empire he had built up over 13 years (pictured 2003)

He added: ‘The staff got paid up to the date and I made sure of that. The hardest part was telling staff that they haven’t got a job anymore.’

Walking into the building, Oliver said: ‘It’s like the films where the bomb goes off and everyone has to leave, and everything is just left.’

Then, after going downstairs, he began to break down into tears, telling McCall: ‘My god. It’s tough.’

Oliver first opened the Fifteen restaurant in 2002 to train apprentice chefs from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The not-for-profit went on to give 15 young people a year the chance to work in the food industry at a cost of £40,000 each.

They were able to train alongside a team of 25 professional chefs and mentors.

He said: 'I've had the best of it – I don't know anyone who had it better than me – and I've had the worst of it – that's life. You have to focus it to a positive' (pictured at Fifteen with Richard Branson in 2012)

He said: ‘I’ve had the best of it – I don’t know anyone who had it better than me – and I’ve had the worst of it – that’s life. You have to focus it to a positive’ (pictured at Fifteen with Richard Branson in 2012)

Oliver said 80 per cent of them were still employed in the sector five or six years after they left.

Oliver has previously said the business ‘changed him as a person’ and that the ‘young graduates were the profit’. 

Oliver previously suggested Brexit was to blame for the collapse in an interview last weekend, claiming the ‘uncertainty’ caused has changed people’s eating habits.

The TV chef believes people stopped eating at restaurants because of uncertainty after the 2016 referendum.  

He said: ‘The world changed, the high street changed – it started to become Uber -fied – our competitors changed, and we looked less different to them as we did in the beginning.

‘Then, when there’s that chain reaction, throw a bit of Brexit in, say the B word, confidence goes and people’s habits changed.’

But experts say the growth of takeaway apps, and a ‘saturation’ of food chains on Britain’s high streets contributed to eroding the company’s earnings.

In 2017 the father-of-five, who lives in a £6million 16th century Essex mansion, ploughed £12.7million of his own money into his struggling businesses.

The Graham Norton Show airs on Friday  November 29 at 10.35pm on BBC One.

Broke down: In August Oliver broke down as he visited Fifteen in east London, which he opened in 2002, as part of Channel 4 documentary Jamie Oliver: The Naked Chef Bares All

Broke down: In August Oliver broke down as he visited Fifteen in east London, which he opened in 2002, as part of Channel 4 documentary Jamie Oliver: The Naked Chef Bares All

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