Another three-generation dynasty in the making might be created by Jamie Oliver. While his parents, Trevor and Sally Oliver, weren’t quite as famous as their son, they owned The Cricketers, a gastropub in Clavering, Essex, from 1976 until November last year. The younger Oliver has discussed in the past how his passion for cooking started in his parents’ kitchen, where he often used to experiment with the AGA when his mother wasn’t looking. “I remember being fascinated by what went on in the kitchen,” he has said of his childhood. “It just seemed such a cool place, everyone working together to make this lovely stuff and having a laugh.”
More recently, Oliver’s 11-year-old son Buddy has shown his father’s passion for cooking, sharing recipes via his dad’s Instagram account, which became so popular during lockdown that they’ve teamed up on a second account, @cookingbuddiesclub to create and share child-friendly recipes and cooking tips. A professional chef in the making? He should have to pay his dues, as Jamie did at London’s famed River Café before he was discovered.
Gordon Ramsay’s daughter Tilly has also followed her father into the food business. After making several appearances on Masterchef Junior and Hell’s Kitchen with her father, she headlined her own children’s cooking show, Matilda And The Ramsay Bunch on CBBC. The 20-year-old also competed in Celebrity Masterchef Australia, where she came runner-up. Currently appearing on Strictly Come Dancing, Ramsay Jr is building up a sweet, keen-to-learn persona so if she’s angling for a big BBC cookery show, it will be some way from Hell’s Kitchen.