Miscusi! Jamie's Food Empire Crumbles

The naked truth behind what went wrong

Jamie Oliver is the first to admit that his head for business is questionable. “I am susceptible to failure and also I have lots of shortcomings,” he confesses. “I’m very emotionally driven and that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m following my heart. I’ve been impressionable... and that’s often made me fail.”

His most recent failure – the bankruptcy of his Jamie’s Italian, Barbecoa and Fifteen restaurants – has certainly been his most spectacular, although he fought long and hard to save them. The popular chef didn’t take a penny from them and last year propped them up using millions from his own personal fortune.

What went wrong is a matter of hot debate. Marisa Bidois (40), chief executive of the Restaurant Association of New Zealand, believes the answer is simple: strong competition along with rising rents, wages and food prices. And these are all problems Jamie would have faced in

New Zealand too, if he had carried out plans to open a Jamie’s Italian in Christchurch or Auckland.

Some insiders blame Jamie’s brother-in-law Paul Hunt, who is married to his sister and took the reins in 2018. One described Paul as “an arrogant, incompetent failure... running the business into the ground”. A former employee chimes in, “He’s always been more focused on cost-cutting than quality.”

Many of the 1000-plus staff who are set to lose their jobs, however, have the celebrity chef (44) squarely in their sights.

Waitress Kath Dyson, who worked in the Cambridge branch of Jamie’s Italian, says, “I think he didn’t put enough effort into the brand, I think he got a bit lazy and took a step back.”