Chef Jamie Oliver spoke openly about the loss of his restaurants and revealed that he went bankrupt because he was “conceptually ignorant”.
During an interview on Davina McCall’s podcast “Begin Again“, 50-year-old Oliver was candid in describing the impact of failure when, in 2019, he was forced to shut down 22 of his restaurants, resulting in 1,000 job losses and leaving him with enormous debt.
“Sometimes I failed and nailed all the hard parts but got the basics wrong because I spent my whole life refusing to take any responsibility when it came to numbers and maths… I failed maths at school,” he said.
“Conceptually, yes, I’m ignorant. I have a negative view of myself when it comes to maths,” he said, adding that even with difficulties, one must try.
“There’s a certain degree to which life is a bit of a numbers game and you have to try, otherwise you’ll never know, and I think failure comes in all shapes and sizes, but it’s an incredible educator,” the chef reflected.
“Maybe I’m being philosophical and trying to protect myself, but I think pain and failure are part of forming your peripheral vision and your senses,” he concluded.
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