Jamie Oliver candidly shared a “nervous” encounter he had with Oprah Winfrey that left him feeling like it was “the worst thing in the world.” Appearing on Australian breakfast radio show Nova’s Jase & Lauren on Thursday (November 7), the celebrity chef revealed to the hosts how the embarrassing incident unfolded when Oprah visited his London, UK, restaurant in 2004.
Jamie recalled: “I think I got nervous cooking for Oprah just because I think she’s really interesting. She came to my Fifteen restaurant.”
Fifteen Cornwall was the 49-year-old’s restaurant located in Britain’s capital. The venue shut its doors in December 2019, after running for 14 years.
Jamie further revealed on Thursday that he had worked extra hard to ensure things ran smoothly while Oprah was dining there, but was left red-faced at the end of the night after another customer confused Oprah with US actress Whoopi Goldberg, The Daily Mail reported on Thursday.
Jamie Oliver candidly shared a “nervous” encounter he had with Oprah Winfrey
He explained: “As soon as she walked through, the whole restaurant stood up and clapped. We had a lovely, lovely time, and we cooked her a lovely meal.
“She loved the concept, and then as she left, they stood up again and started clapping, and one customer went, ‘We love you, Whoopi.’
“And it’s like, ‘Shut up!’ It was the worst thing in the world.”
The encounter left him feeling like it was “the worst thing in the world”
Fortunately, Oprah shook the blunder off and she and Jamie became great friends, and he has frequently appeared as a guest on her talk show, as per The Mail.
Jamie is reportedly in Australia to present a live chat dubbed Jamie Oliver – The Joy of Cooking about his new book Simply Jamie at Sydney’s Coliseum.
The recent blunder involving Oprah isn’t the first slip-up this restaurateur has had with the talk show icon.
Speaking on the On Jimmy’s Farm podcast in 2022, Jamie revealed that he nearly ran over Oprah in the mid-2000s.
The Essex native was booked as a guest on Oprah’s TV series when he nearly knocked the legendary talk show host off her feet as he was riding a moped, The Mail reported in February 2022.
He explained: “I did my walk-through for the recipe and they wanted me to drive in on the scooter – then you’d rehearse it.
“The next time I did it was in front of a full audience of 600 people. There was a family that I was cooking with for the week and then there was Oprah.”
He appeared on Australian breakfast radio show Nova’s Jase & Lauren on Thursday (November 7)
“What no one told anyone was that the cleaners came through after the test and polished the floor.
“I burst in, put my foot on the brakes and nothing happened. I was going towards Oprah and I wasn’t stopping. I flew off the bike.”
He then recalled: “Her security thought I was trying to take her out. He got quite feisty.”
“The lawyers were obsessed that I was going to try and sue them and I was like, ‘I don’t care, I’m fine.’”
In addition to his busy career as a renowned chef, touring, publishing books, and opening restaurants, Jamie is also a devoted father to his five children and a dedicated husband to his wife, former model and writer Juliette Norton.
Jamie and Juliette share Poppy Honey Rosie (born 18 March 2002), Daisy Boo Pamela (born 10 April 2003), Petal Blossom Rainbow (born 3 April 2009), Buddy Bear Maurice (born 15 September 2010), and River Rocket Blue Dallas (born 7 August 2016).
“He needs to get out more,” a reader commented
