Jamie Oliver, chef-proprietor,Fifteen, London
Not only has he made cooking fun to millions of people, both young and old, he has also placed a professional and personal stake in developing the restaurateurs of tomorrow."
This was the conclusion of one of the judges after an afternoon of debate over a long and impressive list of nominations for the most prestigious of the 2003 Cateys.
He was, of course, talking about 28-year-old Jamie Oliver, the former River Café chef, now better known for bringing a new, less formal style of cookery programmes to our screens, for exciting young people about food, and for the famous love-them-or-hate-them Sainsbury's ads.
But it's for his latest project that he wins this year's Special Award. "Bravely and admirably, he has put his time and money into launching Fifteen and his charity, Cheeky Chops, which is set to open up more restaurants around the country, giving underprivileged youngsters a chance to learn a vocation," said Rachel Lampen, of American Express Establishment Services, echoing the views of the panel.
Oliver has had a love-hate relationship with the press during his career. He shot to fame with his stylish cookery programmes on BBC2, but his popularity waned in the wake of perceived overexposure in the media. But his profile saw a remarkable turnaround when the hugely successful Jamie's Kitchen series was screened on Channel 4 last November.
It showed Oliver setting up his own restaurant in Hackney, east London, taking 15 unemployed youngsters aged 16-24, and training them to become chefs in just nine months. Oliver had the thrills and spills of refurbishing a derelict site to contend with, as well as the problems of training and motivating the youngsters, and to his credit, only three failed to last the distance.
Oliver also set up his Cheeky Chops charity, into which the restaurant's profits are ploughed. It aims to help unemployed youngsters learn about the hospitality and catering business through training and practical experience.
Jamie's Kitchen made gripping TV, showing Oliver as an inspired motivator, passionate about cooking and committed to making the project work. And so it did. Fifteen opened last year to critical acclaim. The concept is now expected to roll out to sites in other locations, and a second batch of trainees are going through Oliver's style of training based on cajoling, understanding, motivating and - when necessary - showing them just who's boss.
Oliver has shown the industry at its best, too - hard work and stressful, but rewarding, exciting, fast-moving and worthwhile.
It's for this reason the judges were unequivocal about making him this year's Special Award winner. "He's been good for the industry," said one judge. "He's got a high profile, he's young, and in the past year Fifteen has been a very identifiable achievement for him."
Judges
Heads of department at Caterer & Hotelkeeper based on nominations from the industry and all the Catey judging panels
RACHEL LAMPEN Senior client manager - hotels and restaurants Europe, American Express Establishment Services
Previous Winners:
- 2002 Bob Cotton
- 2001 Francis Mackay
- 2000 Silvano Giraldin
- 1999 Sir Rocco Forte
- 1998 Sir Terence Conran
- 1997 Ramón Pajares
- 1996 Gary Rhodes
- 1995 David Michels
- 1994 John Jarvis
- 1993 Richard Shepherd
- 1992 Prue Leith
- 1991 Joe Hyam
- 1990 Alan Hearn
- 1989 John Taylorson
- 1988 Francis Coulson & Brian Sack
- 1987 Restaurateur’s Association of Great Britain
- 1986 Garry Hawkes
- 1985 Roy Ackerman
- 1984 Victor Ceserani
Sponsored by: American Express
Sponsor message:
American Express is delighted to be supporting the Catey awards, and to be sponsoring this year's Special award Catey, one of the most widely respected awards within the hospitality industry.
The special award Catey was established to recognise individuals who have demonstrated outstanding service, dedication and a commitment to innovation within their industry.
American Express prides itself on sharing these values and delivering a consistently high quality of service to its customers.
American Express continues to widen its global network of merchant coverage and to drive the business of its higher spending, loyal Card members to partner merchants around the UK.
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