Jamie Oliver On Flying at 51, Real Fast Food & School Dinners

The Romesh Ranganathan Show

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Monday, 14 September 2026 - 1 hour 26 minutes

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.

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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