Jamie Oliver restaurants goes into administration

james.miller · 22 May 2019 at 09:37

He thinks he is upmarket and above them.

lol. I don't think anybody's ever said that about Jamie Oliver before.

Semple · 22 May 2019 at 10:01

robfosters said:
I went once. Wasn’t impressed at all. I’m surprised he’s not blaming it on brexit.

I think it kind of has been partly blamed on Brexit, plus rising costs of rent + food etc. Other sources seem to suggest the chain just wasn't keeping up and adapting to changes in the market.

There was a recent-ish review done by a restaurant critic of a dish at one of his restaurants and that didn't go down well.

Personally i do think Jamie has to take some responsibility for the collapse, it's all well and good blaming it on other factors, but most of those factors are in the CEO's control. If rents are high in some restaurants and they're not making enough in a month to cover all costs, then it's time to close that location down. I do think sometimes he's set up this restaurant chain, but then moved onto other opportunities in his career, and the restaurant business was overseen by a management company.

One More Solo said:
I disagree that they're overpriced as these places generally have quite fixed margins on food/drink in order to stay afloat and if they could charge less they would. The big issue with larger chains is what has been touched on in other posts: inconsistent quality across different locations, high fixed cost base and lack of differentiation between them and their competitors.

I also think the mid-market has been really squeezed in recent years. People would sooner eat cheaply (McDonalds etc) or pay for something much nicer than pay £10-15 for a pasta dish or pizza they could make almost as competently at home. It's similar to the supermarket scenario for Tesco/Sainsburys/Asda where some people buy most of their stuff from Aldi/Lidl and a couple of nice things from M&S/Waitrose/local butcher etc rather than paying a bit more across the board for average produce.

You make some good points, but the biggest issue i see is that the restaurant market is currently absolutely flooded. As a consumer, we've never had so much choice with where and what to eat. That means competition is fierce. I've never eaten in a Jamie's Italian, and most of that has been down to the pricing has been typically higher than competing restaurants. Now if the food and service was always excellent, then you could command those prices and people would still happily pay. But going just off of the posters in this thread who've said the food really wasn't great, means people are more disgruntled about being ripped off than they are about the bad food.

Marky · 22 May 2019 at 10:12

Been a couple of times - Wasn't particularly impressed or surprised - It was nothing special, at least from what I could tell...

200sols · 22 May 2019 at 10:26

One More Solo said:
I disagree that they're overpriced

Oh it was. Sub par food and priced above the competition and trying to justify it because its a 'Jamie Oliver'.

jsmoke · 22 May 2019 at 10:30

I assume he'll still have many millions in the bank or how will this affect him. Makes you wonder how any businessess survive.

Raymond Lin · 22 May 2019 at 11:07

I find, as a whole, Italian cuisine is kind of boring. It’s all wheat, tomato and cheese. Compared to any Asian cuisine, the variety is limited in scope in technique, ingredients and even imagination.

A Cantonese Dim Sum Breakfast has more variation in choice than most Italian restaurant menus.

Semple · 22 May 2019 at 12:04

jsmoke said:
I assume he'll still have many millions in the bank or how will this affect him. Makes you wonder how any businessess survive.

Not sure on how true, but i read that his empire is still worth 200 million. Which suggests he could have easily saved his restaurant business.

Raymond Lin said:
I find, as a whole, Italian cuisine is kind of boring. It’s all wheat, tomato and cheese. Compared to any Asian cuisine, the variety is limited in scope in technique, ingredients and even imagination.

A Cantonese Dim Sum Breakfast has more variation in choice than most Italian restaurant menus.

Couldn't agree more. We visited a number of the main Italian cities a couple of summers ago as a nice trip, by the 3rd night we were really bored of Italian food.

On the other hand, i really like the American Italian twist, such as Frankie and Bennys serve up. Tasty pizzas, and pasta dishes with a spicy kick makes it much more flavoured.

Martynt74 · 22 May 2019 at 12:58

Semple said:
Not sure on how true, but i read that his empire is still worth 200 million. Which suggests he could have easily saved his restaurant business.

He pumped in a few million earlier in the year i think. Sometimes you just have to cut the chord though.

TonyTurbo78 · 22 May 2019 at 13:00

I do like Italian cuisine, but whenever I decide to eat out I never dine out at an Italian restaurant. Maybe it's because I can cook fairly well and quite often make some really good Italian dishes at home, it's quite an easy plate of food to cook. I'd rather eat out at Thai, Indian, Mexican as those dishes I find more difficult to nail the proper tastes at home.

Maybe that's other peoples thoughts when dining out also, doesn't help that these restaurant chains with top chef names attached to them tend to be hugely overpriced and comes with a certain level of pomp which I hate.

Scam · 22 May 2019 at 13:15

TonyTurbo78 said:
I do like Italian cuisine, but whenever I decide to eat out I never dine out at an Italian restaurant.

This, really. I rarely order pasta out as it's so easy to cook at home. And if I want a pizza I'd go to a "specialist" like Franco Manca or my local (rated best in London).

Raymond Lin · 22 May 2019 at 13:17

TonyTurbo78 said:
I do like Italian cuisine, but whenever I decide to eat out, I never dine out at an Italian restaurant. Maybe it's because I can cook fairly well and quite often make some really good Italian dishes at home, it's quite an easy plate of food to cook. I'd rather eat out at Thai, Indian, Mexican as those dishes I find more difficult to nail the proper tastes at home.

I feel like anyone can cook up a nice Italian dish, the key to it is fresh ingredients and they are all easily sourced in any supermarket, and they are relatively simple easy dish to make.

Semple · 22 May 2019 at 13:51

Marvt74 said:
He pumped in a few million earlier in the year i think. Sometimes you just have to cut the chord though.

Yeah this year and last year or year before. I think somewhere in the region of 10-12 million over the last few years anyway. But yeah i would guess his financial advisors had told him it was a sinking ship and not to bother investing anymore into it.

It's interesting that some of the restaurants are a franchise rather than part of the chain (including abroad), and are not part of the collapse, so it goes to show it's not always the market to blame and more the people who are steering the ship.

jpaul · 22 May 2019 at 15:01

The use of the (alive) originators name in the chain is an indulgence you see less now, and whilst it originally accompanied his rising star - naked chefs books, it may be counter productive now with his (over)exposure in the media - marmite no ? carluccioi's is still hanging on.

Semple said:
i really like the American Italian twist, such as Frankie and Bennys serve up. Tasty pizzas,

never been, only 1mile away, but just recced their menu and the 'breakfast buttermilk pancakes and (real?) maple syrup' do sound good.

ttaskmaster · 22 May 2019 at 15:22

Psycho Sonny · 22 May 2019 at 15:35

ttaskmaster said:
I agree with this part.
You compare him to Gordon Ramsey - Gordon isn't even worth half the money Oliver is, doesn't have as many restaurants, has neither published nor sold as many books... and yet Ramsey has 16 Michelin stars (up to 3 in the UK alone) while Oliver has absolutely none, and while Oliver's recipes are marketed as Bish-Bash-Bosh simple, it's generally reckoned that Ramsey's guides turn out better results because he doesn't 'F-Word' about so much.
Oliver is Tom Kerridge, to Ramsey's Alan Murchison.

Oliver was taught by Ramsay. Ramsay has travelled the world and learned taste and secrets from all over and he has worked with the best chefs from all over. Oliver is just a celebrity and liked by mums who happens to be a chef. the fact he single handedly pushed for the sugar tax shows you he doesn't have a clue. We now have drinks riddled with chemicals which are far worse.

They should have introduced a tax on fake sweeteners too. Stevia should be the only sweetener any company is allowed to use other than natural sources like honey, sugar, etc. Oliver uses olive oil for frying that just tells you everything you need to know. he doesn't have a clue how to cook.

the-evaluator · 22 May 2019 at 15:38

ttaskmaster said:
Ramsey has 16 Michelin stars (up to 3 in the UK alone)

Had. He's got 7 right now.

I'd only eaten in one of Jamie Oliver's restaurants, I went to Fifteen a few years ago and it was awful. When my starter eventually arrived it was cold and the main course took so long that I left. I'm not a fan of the guy at all but it's a real shame for those affected by the job losses.

ttaskmaster · 22 May 2019 at 16:05

james.miller · 22 May 2019 at 16:39

Psycho Sonny said:
Oliver was taught by Ramsey

Nonsense. Jamie got his first job as a sous at Carluccio's and was mentored by Contaldo. Where are you getting this rubbish from?

Psycho Sonny · 22 May 2019 at 16:58

james.miller said:
Nonsense. Jamie got his first job as a sous at Carluccio's and was mentored by Contaldo. Where are you getting this rubbish from?

mmaybe i'm getting him mixed up but i swear he was taught by him at one point or worked under him or possibly i'm mixing up ramsay with another chef

200sols · 22 May 2019 at 17:06

Raymond Lin said:
I find, as a whole, Italian cuisine is kind of boring.

At its best its simple and delicious. I prefer it at lunchtimes but I could eat Pizza all day.