1 hour 26 minutes | Monday, 14 September 2026
What really happened with Jamie Oliver's school dinners?
In this Monday episode of The Romesh Ranganathan Show, Romesh is joined by one of the UK’s best-known chefs, Jamie Oliver.
Jamie talks about life after 50, his career in the kitchen and what keeps him motivated after decades in the food industry. He also reveals what it’s really like to work in a high-pressure kitchen, whether restaurant food has ruined the experience of eating out and the truth behind kitchen hazing.
Elsewhere, Jamie critiques Shanthi's best dishes, we get into the neuroscience of food, England's eating habits and what we can learn from the Blue Zones.
And, of course, Jamie opens up how his pioneering social enterprise Fifteen led him to campaign for healthier school dinners featuring the infamous Turkey Twizzler drama that rocked the nation.
We also get a sneak peak into his new book, 20 Minute Meals: Real Fast Food, which is out now.
A Ranga Bee Production in partnership with Platform Media.
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Chapters
00:00 Intro
03:40 Vegan lasagna
06:07 Being in your 50s
08:38 Working in the food industry
11:37 A gift from Shanthi
12:27 Jamie talks through Shanthi’s curries
14:25 How do you cook a squirrel?
15:39 Another gift for Jamie
16:40 Dogs and their diets
18:50 Does being a chef ruin the restaurant experience?
22:00 The neuroscience of food
22:59 Ratatoullie & The Bear
24:45 Is the kitchen that high pressure?
26:14 Is kitchen hazing true?
30:38 What keeps Jamie in the game?
31:57 Where did campaign Jamie come from?
36:26 The Turkey Twizzler debacle
37:37 School Dinners
47:23 The nations eating habits
49:08 What are they doing in the blue zones?
50:50 20 Minute Meals
56:15 Why cook over buy?
59:35 A question from Shanthi on the sesh
01:04:22 Getting a pilots license
01:10:30 On being a bit more selfish
01:14:32 Misquoted
01:19:20 An exclusive
01:21:57 Outro
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