Jaime Oliver's restaurant chain falls into administration

Deleted member 17990 · May 21, 2019

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has said he is "saddened" after his restaurant group went into administration, putting up to 1,300 jobs at risk.

Full story:

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48352026

TheMan · May 21, 2019

I take it administration is some fancy British word for bankruptcy?

Hollywood Duo · May 21, 2019

Of all the celebrity chefs I've never been impressed with anything he's done.

TheMan said:
I take it administration is some fancy British word for bankruptcy?

Yes

Siggy-P · May 21, 2019

That's depressing, but 1,300 jobs is more than I'd have thought for about 25 restaurants. I assume that number includes people in the supply chain and stuff.

H.Protagonist · May 21, 2019

Hollywood Duo said:
Of all the celebrity chefs I've never been impressed with anything he's done.

Yes

I was impressed with his focus on trying to help kids eat better. A lot of celebrities pay lip service to charities/causes, but he seems like he really put in some yards there, successful or not.

darkwing · May 21, 2019

no one eats in his restaurants? why is it going bankrupt

Gernau Morat Gurgeh · May 21, 2019

His Italian chain just isn't very good.

Hollywood Duo · May 21, 2019

H.Protagonist said:
I was impressed with his focus on trying to help kids eat better. A lot of celebrities pay lip service to charities/causes, but he seems like he really put in some yards there, successful or not.

Yeah, his old show was a guilty pleasure of mine heh. I was really talking about his culinary skills. I've tried a lot of his recipes and never came away with something I'd make again.

Laserdisk · May 21, 2019

Had one burger like 10 years ago, twas OK

BarryFishFinger · May 21, 2019

https://thetab.com/uk/2018/05/18/fi...litist-hypocrite-jamie-oliver-really-is-65693

Not a fan of Jamie Oliver, partly down to the fact he has always come across to me as a preachy tit, riddled with hypocrisy over his own food and what he thinks we should all be eating and partly down to the fact his kids have the most idiotic, horrendous names so he's clearly an idiot.

As for the restaurant chain - seems to have made the same mistake as many others and simply overreached/overestimated the demand. There were Jamie's Italians popping up in every shopping centre across the country and it's just too many, too high a rental/rates/
staff burden when people begin to stop paying lots of money for eating out.

entremet · May 21, 2019

The restaurant business is a very hard business, so this shouldn't be seen as a black mark on Jamie. It's notoriously difficult.

Deleted member 2802 · May 21, 2019

H.Protagonist · May 21, 2019

Hollywood Duo said:
Yeah, his old show was a guilty pleasure of mine heh. I was really talking about his culinary skills. I've tried a lot of his recipes and never came away with something I'd make again.

I feel you on that. I browse his site a lot looking for inspiration, but whenever I do a recipe of his it always comes out...a bit lacking. The comments on the recipes often (hilariously so) report the same experience too. Testament to whoever photos his food and designs the site, though. I keep coming back... -_-

Fatoy · May 21, 2019

H.Protagonist said:
I feel you on that. I browse his site a lot looking for inspiration, but whenever I do a recipe of his it always comes out...a bit lacking. The comments on the recipes often (hilariously so) report the same experience too. Testament to whoever photos his food and designs the site, though. I keep coming back... -_-

His 30 Minute Meals and the other, similar, collections he did were hilarious. Sure, you can make the recipes in 30 minutes if you're already an experienced chef with a fully-stocked kitchen and a bunch of obscure ingredients and tools.

That's my main beef with Jamie, to be honest; he's likeable enough, but he straddles this weird line between being a pro chef and being a "propa geezer" man of the people and his food just doesn't have that much appeal to either camp. Foodies will always want something more, something deeper; average folks will find his recipes too complex.

EDIT: More on topic, chain restaurants seem to be in a bad spot in the UK in general. The big cities are all experiencing a real resurgence of successful, stand-out, one-off restaurants, making the idea of chains a lot less appealing - at least to me.

Belias · May 21, 2019

Tonight on kitchen nightmares, Chef Ramsay visits a failing british restaurant chain.

Deleted member 35598 · May 21, 2019

I've been in a Jamie Oliver restaurant in Dublin Ireland and I was very disappointed. It was one of the worst Italian restaurant I've done.

16bits · May 21, 2019

BUt of course its the "company" thats bankrupt. The celebrity chef has made bank from it.

Then the cycle will start again.

Sec0nd · May 21, 2019

The Italian chain that was located around the corner from me closed down last month. It was decent but honestly nothing more than that.

Tokyo_Funk · May 21, 2019

Years ago I took my partner to one of his restaurants and ordered entrees and mains. The bread and dip platter was garbage. We eventually got our meals, my partner getting a tuna pasta thing and I ordered the Wagyu plate. The tuna pasta was pretty average and the Wagyu was 4 paper thin slices of tasteless beef that was eaten in two bites, hidden under salad. $68 AUD/ $48US later and we were still hungry. The waiter told asked us if everything was alright and I told him we were still both very hungry even after entrees and mains. He suggested we ordered more.

We went to another restaurant and filled up on ramen and a sushi platter for 35 bucks AUD instead.

eXistor · May 21, 2019

BarryFishFinger said:
Not a fan of Jamie Oliver, partly down to the fact he has always come across to me as a preachy tit, riddled with hypocrisy over his own food and what he thinks we should all be eating and partly down to the fact his kids have the most idiotic, horrendous names so he's clearly an idiot.

You made me curious....jesus, what was he thinking.

elektrixx · May 21, 2019

The steak I had in Brisbane Australia was very nice.

Tedmilk · May 21, 2019

My GF received a voucher for a meal for two at one of his restaurants a couple of weeks ago, which we haven't used yet. Gonna try and get in on Thursday while the going's good.

massivekettle · May 21, 2019

entremet said:
The restaurant business is a very hard business, so this shouldn't be seen as a black mark on Jamie. It's notoriously difficult.

Well... he's an acclaimed chef and he couldn't make it...

His chain was very bland and uninspired, like most of the UK's casual dining chains

Kingpin Rogers · May 21, 2019

If he's partly the reason they changed to a low sugar version of coco pops here I can't say I feel bad at all.

entremet · May 21, 2019

massivekettle said:
Well... he's an acclaimed chef and he couldn't make it...

His chain was very bland and uninspired, like most of the UK's casual dining chains

Many acclaimed chefs lose restaurants. This is nothing new.

Reverse Giraffe · May 21, 2019

That's too bad. I like the one show he had when he went to West Virginia and taught the kids about the dangers of obesity.
West Virginia also has much higher rates of smoking and drug abuse than most anywhere else.

massivekettle · May 21, 2019

entremet said:
Many acclaimed chefs lose restaurants. This is nothing new.

Gordon Ramsay, Nobu, Wolfgang Puck, etc. are doing very well.

Jamie Oliver couldn't cut it in the casual dining space because his chain wasn't setting itself apart enough versus chains which are doing very well like Nando's and Wagamama.

Camwi · May 21, 2019

eXistor said:
You made me curious....jesus, what was he thinking.

Poppy Honey Rosie

Daisy Boo Pamela

Petal Blossom Rainbow

Buddy Bear Maurice

River Rocket Blue Dallas

Those poor kids. Makes Breckin Kale look tame in comparison.

E.Balboa · May 21, 2019

Camwi said:
Those poor kids. Makes Breckin Kale look tame in comparison.

Lol I remember that one.

Deleted member 4353 · May 21, 2019

I read this as John Oliver for some reason.

WascallyWabbit · May 21, 2019

You know, somehow we found ourselves when travelling in Rotterdam at Jamie Oliver's Italian chain. Must have been deliriously tired, but we had a pretty solid meal.

Cosmo Kramer · May 21, 2019

eXistor said:
You made me curious....jesus, what was he thinking.

WTF? Does he knows the kids have to live as adults with does ridiculous names?

The man is clearly crazy

Kernel · May 21, 2019

massivekettle said:
Well... he's an acclaimed chef and he couldn't make it...

His chain was very bland and uninspired, like most of the UK's casual dining chains

Doesn't sound as bad as Guy Fieri's restaurant at least.

That's gotta be the worst celebrity chef epic fail.

Tokyo_Funk · May 21, 2019

Poppy Honey Rosie

Daisy Boo Pamela

Petal Blossom Rainbow

Buddy Bear Maurice

River Rocket Blue Dallas

What the hell. Did Jamie just get a children's dictionary and throw darts at it to come up with these?

kurahador · May 21, 2019

Not surprised really. Heard alot of bad things about his restaurant in singapore.

Red Liquorice · May 21, 2019

I never want to hear Buffalo Stance. ever. again.

GodofWine · May 21, 2019

Its a HARD business. Its an over populated business. Its often an over thought business, which leads to higher costs / lower profits.

Plus, to me, Italian Food is just about the dumbest thing to spend money on - its so easy to make pretty good italian food (pasta, can of diced tomatoes, can of pureed tomatoes, throw in the meats, cook it all together, put it over pasta, sprinkle cheese, BOOM, italian). The only cuisine I'll ever gladly pay for is asian ones, like Thai, Vietnamese, sushi or traditional chinese. I can't really make them.

Also, Jaime Oliver, doesn't really scream ITALIAN to me. Farm to table organic fine casual-fine dining is where I'd put him.

Deleted member 10795 · May 21, 2019

Ate there once and it was alright. Bang average.

There is just no reason to pay more than you need to or go for "names" when it comes to Italian food. I live in a small village a 30 second walk from a tiny bistro that does one of the nicest lasagna's I've ever had. Pretty sure anyone who eats out even semi regularly will have their own favourites that aren't chains too.

H.Protagonist · May 21, 2019

Fatoy said:
His 30 Minute Meals and the other, similar, collections he did were hilarious. Sure, you can make the recipes in 30 minutes if you're already an experienced chef with a fully-stocked kitchen and a bunch of obscure ingredients and tools.

That's my main beef with Jamie, to be honest; he's likeable enough, but he straddles this weird line between being a pro chef and being a "propa geezer" man of the people and his food just doesn't have that much appeal to either camp. Foodies will always want something more, something deeper; average folks will find his recipes too complex.

EDIT: More on topic, chain restaurants seem to be in a bad spot in the UK in general. The big cities are all experiencing a real resurgence of successful, stand-out, one-off restaurants, making the idea of chains a lot less appealing - at least to me.

I think you've nailed it. He's a watered down version for either side. His "Simple Baked Lasagna" still cracks me up, though. Categorized as 'Not Too Tricky' it has 21 ingredients, 12 steps, and takes 3+ hours. This fucking guy. Hahaha.

Hycran · May 21, 2019

Tokyo_Funk said:
Poppy Honey Rosie

Daisy Boo Pamela

Petal Blossom Rainbow

Buddy Bear Maurice

River Rocket Blue Dallas

What the hell. Did Jamie just get a children's dictionary and throw darts at it to come up with these?

These names are unquestionably "unique", but I would rather have these names than something intolerably plain like "rob" or "Steve".

Also, if you cut out the horse shit and just look at the first names, they aren't actually that bad (except for petal)

joecanada · May 21, 2019

massivekettle said:
Gordon Ramsay, Nobu, Wolfgang Puck, etc. are doing very well.

Jamie Oliver couldn't cut it in the casual dining space because his chain wasn't setting itself apart enough versus chains which are doing very well like Nando's and Wagamama.

Ramsey has lost restaraunts and talks about it openly. Most celeb chefs have multiple spots

ZackieChan · May 21, 2019

limerobot said:
BUt of course its the "company" thats bankrupt. The celebrity chef has made bank from it.

Then the cycle will start again.

Yes, having a company that multiple people own and invest in for a particular idea is how business basically works. You'd prefer he personally went bankrupt? I don't get your post. Not every venture can be successful.

Hycran said:
These names are unquestionably "unique", but I would rather have these names than something intolerably plain like "rob" or "Steve".

Also, if you cut out the horse shit and just look at the first names, they aren't actually that bad (except for petal)

Yeah, I don't see the issue. Y'all should look up common Thai nicknames if you want to see some fun names.

16bits · May 21, 2019

ZackieChan said:
Yes, having a company that multiple people own and invest in for a particular idea is how business basically works. You'd prefer he personally went bankrupt? I don't get your post. Not every venture can be successful..

I imagine that the celebrity chef made a lot of money from this venture.

The "business" is now insolvent, 1000 employees without jobs and numerous creditors that will not be paid for goods and services they provided.

The chef is a multi millionaire, made millions from this business, washes his hands of it.

You think this is right and fair?

I'll give it 6 months before a new company is set up and the cycle starts again.

fanboi · May 21, 2019

limerobot said:
I imagine that the celebrity chef made a lot of money from this venture.

The "business" is now insolvent, 1000 employees without jobs and numerous creditors that will not be paid for goods and services they provided.

The chef is a multi millionaire, made millions from this business, washes his hands of it.

You think this is right and fair?

I'll give it 6 months before a new company is set up and the cycle starts again.

eehh... yes? He at least gave those people jobs, of course he shouldn't abuse them or anything, but he made the investment and made bank... I also bet that he made most of his fortune when the business went well and made very little during this last phase.

Kill3r7 · May 21, 2019

limerobot said:
I imagine that the celebrity chef made a lot of money from this venture.

The "business" is now insolvent, 1000 employees without jobs and numerous creditors that will not be paid for goods and services they provided.

The chef is a multi millionaire, made millions from this business, washes his hands of it.

You think this is right and fair?

I'll give it 6 months before a new company is set up and the cycle starts again.

I am surprised anyone in this day and age takes issue with idea of bankruptcy. We have nearly 3000 years of human history that shows that the alternatives do not work. Jamie employed over a thousand people and his creditors were well aware of the risk. They will be able to write off the losses. Bankruptcy is a safety valve.

If in 6 months he launches a new business then so be it. He will employee more people and find more creditors that want to invest in his brand/idea.

EssBeeVee · May 21, 2019

Tokyo_Funk said:
Poppy Honey Rosie

Daisy Boo Pamela

Petal Blossom Rainbow

Buddy Bear Maurice

River Rocket Blue Dallas

What the hell. Did Jamie just get a children's dictionary and throw darts at it to come up with these?

did he open a spring word generator one day and go oh these sound good for a child

BlackFyre · May 21, 2019

I went to his Restaurant in Square One Mississagua Ontario when it first opened.

Loved the decor. Food came out and iWas like: WTF am I eating? How on earth can any chef put this out?

It was horrible. Every dish felt cheap and tasteless.

So not surprised.

Dice · May 21, 2019

Overpriced Italian that tastes like No Name™ Sauce.

16bits · May 21, 2019

Kill3r7 said:
I am surprised anyone in this day and age takes issue with idea of bankruptcy. We have nearly 3000 years of human history that shows that the alternatives do not work. Jamie employed over a thousand people and his creditors were well aware of the risk. They will be able to write off the losses. Bankruptcy is a safety valve.

If in 6 months he launches a new business then so be it. He will employee more people and find more creditors that want to invest in his brand/idea.

Which he keeps repeating, and has amassed a quarter billion.

Slayven · May 21, 2019

H.Protagonist said:
I think you've nailed it. He's a watered down version for either side. His "Simple Baked Lasagna" still cracks me up, though. Categorized as 'Not Too Tricky' it has 21 ingredients, 12 steps, and takes 3+ hours. This fucking guy. Hahaha.

21? Where they counting each individual tomato?

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