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The Great Cookbook Challenge With Jamie Oliver Seeks the Next Big Thing

The celebrity recalls his days as the Naked Chef and the hurdles faced in getting his first book deal.

Jamie Oliver

Jamie Oliver

Photographer: Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images

Press Association

Jamie Oliver has said his first cookbook was made out of recipes written on the “back of fag packs and beer mats” left in a bin bag.

The TV chef and restaurateur, 46, said if he “was a horse in a race, you would never have put a bet on me”, as he spoke to Radio Times ahead of the launch of his new show next week.