Cook-Off

February 2008

A Tale of Two Toques

Celeb chefs Jamie Kennedy and Jamie Oliver have much more in common than their first names By Liz Allemang



Image credit: Kennedy by Stacey Brandford; Oliver from Jamie Oliver/TCS/Global Look

There’s an eerie synchronicity between Jamie Kennedy and Jamie Oliver: beyond the boyish charm and blush-inducing tableside manner, both have earned a near-religious following for their unfussy cooking with fresh ingredients from the backyard. It’s no wonder people keep getting them mixed up. With their respective empires (one local, one global) ever expanding, things are about to get even more confusing: Oliver’s next book, Jamie at Home, is slated for a February release, while JK is set to unveil his latest restaurant this winter (a neighbourhood café for the condo crowd at King and Parliament), and he continues to forge ahead with a project in the Brick Works set for a 2009 debut. A primer on the parallel lives of the two Jamies.

Toronto’s 50-year-old locavore dreamboat foodie. In a nutshell London’s 32-year-old locavore dreamboat foodie.
The food: local ingredients, elevated and made pretty. The man: carefully mussed mane, twinkly eyes and confident grin. Aesthetic The food: local ingredients, elevated and artistically strewn. The man: carefully mussed mane, twinkly eyes and mischievous grin.
He became an it chef after a stint at the Windsor Arms, followed by exec duties at Scaramouche when he was a mere 22 years old. Salad days A spotty young Essex bloke, he evolved into the brilliant chef he is today after manning the burners at London’s famed River Café.
A catering corps that has quad­rupled its business in two years; three restaurants that are so cool he need merely bestow his initials to make them fly. Branding Growing restaurant empire (Fifteen has four locations) and TV series, and cookbooks abound. Gaining a stronghold in celebrity cookware via partnership with T-Fal.
Annual Empty Bowls charity event, raising funds for the homeless. Good works Spearheaded movement to rid British schools of junk food.
More accessible than Susur, cuddlier than Thuet, less mad scientist than Aprile, he’s the chef whose simple comforts foodies yearn for. Dish factor More polite than Gordon Ramsay, less curvaceous than Nigella, cuter than Nigel Slater, he’s the chef whose rustic dishes keep legions loyal.