A new BBC TV series this autumn, Chefs In The Raw, will give an insight into the personal lives of some of the UK’s favourite television chefs.
Gordon Ramsey. In this clip, he has just returned from church, and is relaxing with a nice cup of herbal tea. ‘I hate all that swearing,’ he admits, ‘but it’s a job. My contract states how many times I have to swear in each programme, so I keep a careful count. And telling those restaurant and hotel owners how awful their places are – we all have a good laugh as I ham it up for the cameras! They join in as well, of course, pretending to be upset. It’s not what I want to be doing when I’m sixty of course, and right now I’m training to be a counsellor, so that I can express my caring side a lot more.’
Jamie Oliver says that he finds it difficult to maintain his estuary English, and longs to be able to speak in his natural Surrey accent. ‘One has to remember to speak as if one had truly been born in Southend – or Sarfend, as I have to say! I must confess that when I was at Oxford studying for my degree in Philosophy and Economics one did not expect to become a TV chef! One was hoping to enter the diplomatic corps, but then one was approached by the BBC to act as what I believe they termed a “wide boy”, and one’s career as a TV chef began. One knew nothing about cooking, but one was advised to throw everything into a pot with olive oil and salt and cook it for an hour, and one has lived on that single recipe ever since. Fortunately one has been supported tremendously by the actors who play one’s parents, wife and children. My actual wife, Jacinta, finds the whole business highly amusing. And my family and friends know that I hate being called Jamie! They all call me James, which is my proper name.’
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