Marco Pierre White blasts Jamie Oliver for blaming Brexit over collapse of restaurant empire
Flamboyant restaurant boss claims it is lamest excuse in world
Sanjeeta Bains
Brett Gibbons
Restaurant boss and celebrity chef Marco Pierre White has criticised 'delusional' Jamie Oliver for blaming Brexit over the collapse of his business empire.
Oliver's Barbecoa, Italian and Fifteen 25 outlets were forced into administration in May with about 1,000 jobs going.
Former Naked Chef Oliver has since partly blamed Brexit for the collapse of his restaurants.
But in an exclusive interview with BirminghamLive , Marco Pierre White said: "I have read Jamie is blaming his business failure on Brexit but I really don't understand that at all.
"Wouldn't that mean then all restaurants have gone bust too?
"I don't think he can blame Brexit. It's the lamest excuse in the world. I think it is wrong to blame Brexit. We're all in the same boat. If it's Brexit's fault we'd all be bust.
"How can you blame everyone but yourself? Is he delusional?"
Jamie Oliver spoke on Radio 4 this week about the business collapse and said: "The world changed, the high street changed - it started to become Uber-fied... throw a bit of Brexit in, confidence goes and people's habits changed."
Marco Pierre White was in town visiting his Steakhouse Bar and Grill restaurant at The Cube for a Q&A lunch and dinner and book signing of the 25th anniversary edition of his groundbreaking cookbook White Heat.
Marco Pierre White gave his reaction to the claims while on a visit to his own Steakhouse Bar & Grill at The Cube.
The flamboyant chef turned restaurateur told us: "I've been reading Jamie explaining why he had to close his restaurants and the one thing I don't get, is he did nothing wrong?
"Wouldn't you be putting your hand up and saying 'I f****d up'?
"Jamie's blaming everybody, blaming the landlords - but when he took on the sites, he knew what the business rates on those sites were. That should have been factored into his model."
And Marco went on to criticise one of Jamie Oliver's restaurants.
'It was horrific'
He added: "The only time I've ever dined at a Jamie's was at Gatwick Airport. I've dined twice there, most recently, last year.
"Both times I had to wait a very long time for my food. It was horrific. We all make mistakes, we all have bad days. But I've got to say it was consistently bad on both occasions.
All Jamie's Italian restaurants across the UK are set to close (Image: Getty Images)
"It wasn't my decision to eat there both times - the people I was with chose to go there, but you wouldn't want to go to another Jamie's after that.
"Even if you enjoyed your food, bad service always leaves a sour taste in the mouth."
In a two-part programme for BBC Radio 4's The Food Programme Jamie Oliver said his 40th "birthday was ruined because of the cloud" over his collapsed business.
Jamie's Italian in the Bullring opened to much fanfare back in 2010 - as the first chain restaurant from a big name chef to launch in the city.
He was joined in the city two years later by Marco Pierre White, dubbed the 'enfant terrible' of the British restaurant industry.
The chef opened the Marco Pierre White Steakhouse at The Cube in 2012 - now part of his franchise restaurant venture Black and White Hospitality.
At the age of 32, he was the first British chef to win three Michelin stars and the youngest in the world at the time to be bestowed with the accolade.
He retired from the kitchen in 1999. His group owns the rights to eight brands bearing his name. These include Steakhouse, Bardolino and Marco Pierre White's New York Italian.
He recently opened Marco Pierre White Steakhouse and Grill in Abu Dhabi.
Explaining his role, Marco said: "I franchise my brands out to owners then my team and I do the menus, pricing, choose the decor, lighting, music.
"If I don't like the colour of the ceiling, I will get it changed. In the past I've lowered the ceilings in places - because lower ceilings mean a more buzzy dining atmosphere.
"And romance is very important for a restaurant."
'As a franchiser, I don't pay same business rates as Jamie'
Returning to the subject of Jamie Oliver's recent business woes, he added: "As a franchiser, I don't pay the business rates Jamie did but I work seven days a week.
"If I'm in the UK I'll regularly be at one of the restaurants - checking everything is okay.
"I don't think Jamie could have gone to Gatwick. Had he gone to Gatwick then he would have realised there were problems there. It's not enough to put your name above the door.
(Image: Rob Browne)
"There's nothing wrong with expanding but you have to have the infrastructure in place - people who understand the restaurant business working for your brand. I don't think Jamie had that.
"Our CEO Nick Taplin is a restaurateur and we have a massive infrastructure - people who visit the restaurants every week."
Marco's team also includes executive head chef Jason Everett. He previously worked for Marco's 2 Michelin starred restaurant Harvey's in London in the late 80s, alongside a certain Gordon Ramsay.
White added: "Service, environment and atmosphere is key - more important than food. We're selling a night out. Here we have the views, the good lighting and live music. It's all a package.
"If you worked hard all week and want a treat, then come here and order what we specialise in - steak. We use Campbell's - which is the Queen's butchers. You pay for good meat.
'Restaurants are closing because they are too pricey'
"When we get the bill we say to ourselves - does that represent value? Nothing worse than being stung with a bill that doesn't represent value.
"I have a favourite place to eat near where I live in Bath. I'll have steak and chips or maybe a burger. Is the food the best in the world? No. It's okay food but I feel comfortable in the environment, that's what is important."
When asked why he believes so many restaurants are now closing, Marco told us: "If a restaurant closes it's because it's too pricey.
"It's all about price points. A lot of people don't want to spend £50 a head on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. They will pay £50 a head on a Friday and Saturday if they're getting good value for the overall experience.
"A place that ticks all the boxes. As a customer you should have the choice on the menu to make your dinner as formal and as inexpensive as you want. The whole thing about restaurants is you've got to fill them.
"If you don't fill them you go bust and blame Brexit!"
In a July interview with The Times magazine, Jamie Oliver said the last few months had been the "most disappointing" of his life.
He said: "I did believe I could turn it round. I put in £3 million, another £3 million, then another £3 million, however the numbers went.
"But there was no good news."