Listen to audio of Marco Pierre White's blistering attack on Jamie Oliver over restaurant collapse
Marco Pierre White accused TV's former Naked Chef of being 'delusional' for partly blaming Brexit for his restaurant collapse which led to loss of around 1,000 jobs
Sanjeeta Bains
This is the astonishing audio of Marco Pierre White launching a blistering attack on rival Jamie Oliver after his restaurant business collapse.
The former Naked Chef partly blamed Brexit for the loss of 1,000 jobs when his Italian, Barbecoa and Fifteen 25 outlets went into administration in May.
But in an exclusive interview with BirminghamLive, Marco Pierre White criticised his kitchen rival and said he should admit he 'f****d up'.
On our recording he blasts: "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.
"How can you blame everyone but yourself? Is he delusional?"
Jamie Oliver at a Jamie's Italian. (Image: SWNS)
Jamie Oliver spoke 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 gave his reaction to the claims while on a visit to his own Steakhouse Bar & Grill at The Cube.
The flamboyant chef told us in the recording: "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."
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Marco Pierre White tells Jamie Oliver to admit he 'f****d up' over restaurant collapse and not blame Brexit
And Marco went on to criticise one of Jamie Oliver's restaurants.
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.
"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."
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.
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Marco's 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."
(Image: Birmingham Mail)
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."
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."
Marco Pierre White and reporter Sanjeeta Bains
"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! "
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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."
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