Jamie Oliver announces return of his Italian chain after collapse that saw 22 restaurants close and 1,000 people lose their jobs in what TV chef labelled ‘a minor blip’ (and he’s offering free pasta to draw in diners again!)
His sprawling restaurant empire collapsed into administration in 2019, but Jamie Oliver is officially making a comeback.
The 50-year-old celebrity chef reopens the doors of Jamie’s Italian, with a 140-seat branch in London’s West End, on Monday and is offering free pasta to guests who walk in on the opening day.
It’s an impressive turnaround, considering Jamie’s Italian was on the brink of administration with millions of pounds of debt for more than a year, eventually collapsing in 2019, closing 22 restaurants and losing 1,000 jobs.
Three years later, the celebrity chef insisted the humiliating collapse of his restaurant chain, which left his company in debt around £83 million, was just a ‘minor disruption’.
Speaking about Jamie Oliver: Naked Chef Bares, the TV personality said of the crushing collapse of his beloved restaurant chain: ‘It happens and I would call it a really small blip in the vision and the dream. It’s a very painful situation. But I’m definitely better at it.
‘We’ve had 13 great years and learned a lot. ‘I was a young man when I started, now I’m much older and wiser.’
Asked if he had learned from the closure of the Italian restaurant chain, the TV personality said: ‘Yes, of course, and all the other failures I’ve had – which is about 50 per cent. But I’ve never been more well-rounded, I’ve never been more experienced.’
When Jamie was asked again about the restaurant chain’s demise last year, he admitted he had gotten the ‘basics’ wrong because he was ‘conceptually obtuse’.
Jamie Oliver’s restaurant chain Jamie’s Italian will reopen in London on Monday next week (pictured in 2015)
While appearing on Davina McCall’s show Start Again podcastJamie admitted that he struggles with not being able to understand maths and talked about how he deals with failure.
He reflected: ‘Sometimes I failed and got all the difficult things right and got the basics wrong because for a lifetime I refused to accept any responsibility for numbers and maths… I couldn’t pass maths at school.
‘Conceptually in this, yes, I’m obtuse. I have a negative view of myself when it comes to mathematics.
‘So when I lost my restaurants, you know, we did all the hard things right; We did everything right that most people have a hard time doing right. ‘We were really good at the hard stuff and that was really at the basics.’
Poor online reviews are also believed to have contributed to Jamie’s Italian’s worsening reputation, as food delivery apps such as Uber Eats have taken over the market and the chef has been unable to save his struggling brand.
Josh Singh, formerly of Jamie’s Italian on the Bullring in Birmingham, said: ‘In the early years it was a destination restaurant but I think over time the message was lost. The company started giving away things and turned into an ordinary street restaurant instead of a famous restaurant.
‘They opened restaurants everywhere and in places where you wouldn’t expect famous restaurants to be, such as villages and very small towns.’
An anonymous member of staff added: ‘It became very commercial and I felt under pressure to seat customers, place their orders and then walk out very quickly.
‘On busy nights it was like a conveyor belt. Why pay £100-plus for a meal when you’re under pressure to eat it straight away? ‘You can also go to McDonalds.’
Jamie Oliver opened up about the loss of his restaurant empire during a podcast in 2025, admitting he got the ‘fundamentals’ wrong because he was ‘conceptually obtuse’.
Jamie opened his first Jamie’s Italian restaurant in Oxford in 2008 and has grown to more than 60 restaurants worldwide.
The restaurant chain lost almost £20 million in 2017 and was forced to close many branches.
The chef was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2018 until he poured £12.7 million of his savings into the business.
That year, Union Jacks closed the last of its restaurants and scrapped Jamie magazine, which had been in print for almost 10 years. The father of five described that year as the worst year of his life.
By 2018, Jamie’s Italian was struggling with debts of £71.5 million. More than 600 people had lost their jobs earlier that year, when the chain said it would close 12 facilities.
Jamie’s Italian, which aims to sell classic pasta dishes at affordable prices, is now opening a new branch in partnership with Brava Hospitality Group, the team behind Prezzo Italian.
Jamie said of the opening: ‘I’m so excited to open Jamie’s Italian doors once again; It’s been quite a journey but I’m truly humbled by the support you’ve shown us over the years.
‘And for those who still have that cheeky ‘borrowed’ napkin or old-school gold card, put it down and we’ll treat you to a free bowl of pasta or Ravioli Fritti – no questions asked. What about free pasta? This is my way of saying a big thank you for staying with us.’
