Jamie Oliver might be a kitchen legend, but at home, he’s just a regular dad who totally embarrasses his kids. The 49-year-old chef shares five kids with his wife, Jools , Poppy, 23; Daisy, 22; Petal, 16; Buddy, 14; and River, 8, and admits that growing up as “Jamie Oliver’s kids” wasn’t exactly easy for them. Some of them, he says, still get “super embarrassed” whenever he picks them up from school or, worse, says something out loud.
Talking to People magazine, Jamie opened up about how awkward it can be. “Being the kids of Jamie Oliver is also tricky. Depending on the kid and their personality, some of them are super embarrassed of me,” he said. Luckily, his older daughters, now in their twenties, have figured out how to deal with the attention. “They fully handle it; they’ve got it down,” he said proudly.
When he’s not mortifying his children, Jamie is making sure they know their way around a kitchen. All five of his kids have learned how to plant, pick, shop, and cook real food, even if, like every teenager, they went through a phase of devouring pizza and burgers. “But they do come back,” Jamie laughed, clearly confident that the Oliver food roots run deep.
Jamie also admitted that raising five kids while managing a career in the spotlight hasn’t exactly been a cakewalk. He thinks he’s a “good” dad but happily gives most of the credit to Jools, who he says has been the rock behind the scenes. “It hasn’t been easy, and we’ve had a few bumps here and there, but on the whole, so far, so good,” Jamie said. He added that Jools’ constant support, even with all the campaigning and projects he gets involved in, has made it all possible.
At the end of the day, Jamie Oliver might be a world-famous chef, but to his kids, he’s just Dad , the guy who’s embarrassing at school pickups but always makes sure there’s good food on the table.
