Jamie Oliver once turned a chicken into "a piece of coal" during a Christmas dinner disaster.
The 43-year-old chef – who has Poppy Honey, 16, Daisy Boo, 15, Petal Blossom, nine, Buddy Bear, eight, and River Rocket, two, with his wife Juliette Norton – might be known for being a whizz kid in the kitchen, but that doesn’t mean he never makes mistakes, as he admits one festive flop left his family without a signature roast dinner.
When asked if he’s ever had a disaster in the kitchen, Jamie said: "Oh Christ. That has happened. When you’re cooking, you’re getting things going, and if something nice is happening in the other room you want to join in. At Christmas I cook in a wood oven, and if you get your timings wrong you end up in trouble. I put a chicken in there and forgot about it because I was doing stuff with the kids, and someone threw logs on and the chicken turned into a piece of coal."
And the ‘Naked Chef’ star will be hoping things go well on the big day (25.12.18) this year, as he’s cooking for a whopping 30 people.
He added: "There will be 30 of us this year, both sides of the family. There will be porchetta, turkey, and goose. Not the bird within a bird within a bird – that’s cute and all, but technically, it’s not wanting to end well. I get organised, I write lists when I never write lists."
Despite being a world renowned chef, Jamie still gets nervous over Christmas, and says the dinner is still a "big deal" to him, as he’s enlisted the help of some of his guests to make some of the dishes.
Speaking to Notebook magazine, he said: "I’d say it was a big deal, actually, because I want to enjoy myself with 30 people too. I’ll do the holy trinity of the meat, veg, and gravy – but I’ve gone into my Christmas book, taken a picture of the recipes, and sent them out with the invite, strategically choosing the right person for the right job."
Jamie Oliver’s Christmas cooking disaster
