3) Jamie Oliver
This chirpy British chap, often to as ‘The Naked Chef’ after the title of his debut BBC series (a reference to the simplicity of his recipes rather than anything more risqué) kicked off his career by training at Westminster Catering College.
After graduating, Jamie Oliver’s first job was as a pastry chef at Antonio Carluccio's Neal Yard restaurant, after which he moved to The River Café in Fulham, as a sous chef.
It was here that he came to the attention of the BBC, who shot him to stardom with his first series, The Naked Chef.
Today, Oliver is known for his TV shows, and high-profile campaigns for better standards of school food and to improve public eating habits.
He also conceived and established the Fifteen charity restaurant, where he trained 15 disadvantaged young people to work in the hospitality industry. Following the success of the first project in London (documented in the series Jamie's Kitchen) more Fifteens have opened around the globe.
Oliver is now expanding his presence by opening restaurants around the world; watch out for a Jamie’s Italian and a new barbeque concept coming up in Dubai.
Click here to read our exclusive interview with Jamie Oliver.
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Sep 7, 2009
Many thanks to James and Aj for their comments. I'd just like to emphasise that the Top 20 Most Influential Celeb Chefs listing was compiled on the basis of votes cast by F&B professionals who took part in the Caterer F&B Survey last month. The listed celebrity chefs needed to be not just intern...
Sep 7, 2009 , United Arab Emirates
We all know these people - would it not have been better and more appropriate to focus on the Talent that we have in The Middle East? There are many amazing Chefs in the hotel industry in the Middle East that deserve some recognition as well??