Jamie Oliver’s Got A Lot On His Plate

There are not enough hours in the day for celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. The 34-year-old Naked Chef, who is considering celebrating his 10th wedding anniversary with wife Jools next year by renewing his vows, is swamped with his TV series, Jamie’s American Road Trip, his new cook book, Jamie’s America, five restaurants, a mail order business and, of course, his three daughters – Poppy, 7, Daisy, 6, and 6-month-old baby Petal.

“I used to work seven days a week until Poppy was born,” Jamie tells The Daily Mail. “Then Jools said, ‘Right, Mondays to Friday are yours, the weekend’s mine.’ Anyone looking after three kids knows it’s hard. Being rich makes it easier.”

Jamie does admit that despite his wealth, children are still a handful: “They’re still kicking off left, right and centre.”

“I'm absolutely in love with my girls,” gushes Jamie. “I never dreamed I could love anything this strongly. Six and seven is an insane age. You talk to them like a best friend. You can have inspiration, tranquility and the happiest minute of your life, but you're only 15 seconds away from carnage.”

Though his schedule might be “organized down to the minute, the day, the hour” he still makes time for wife Jools: “I think I’m fairly romantic considering we’ve been married for ten years. You need time without kids jumping all over you, don’t you?” he adds, blushing slightly.

He admits that “like any married couple” his time spent with Jools is “not enough”: “Jools is breastfeeding at the moment, so in a month or two we should get some nice nights.”

In 2005 a newspaper reported falsely accused Jamie of cheating on his wife and sleeping with a waitress: “The waitress story came out of nowhere… We’re a normal couple. We get on each other’s wick every day for a few hours, and love each other every day for a few hours.”

Jamie and Jools, a former model, met in 1993 and were married seven years later: “It took me a long time to get Jools,” he admits. “When I asked Jools out, I tripped over a kerb. Luckily, she said yes and I was round the next day. I thought she was great, brilliant, beautiful, peachy, lovely, sensible, nice – a gorgeous girl.”

Jamie tells The Daily Mail that his wife always wanted to be a mother: “She just wanted to be a mother and that was it. I didn't understand at all. Why would you want to be a mother? We all want to have jobs and careers, don't we? Everyone around me was the same. Until she became a mother, I never understood how honest she was being.”

With his hectic schedule you’d think that Jamie would be tempted to take a little time off, especially with a new baby: “No,” he says. “I’d love to see the kids more, but I know it isn’t what I should be doing. If my restaurants go down, my house and everything I’ve got goes too.”

As for his 10th anniversary and the possibility of renewing his vows? “If [Jools] wants to do it, I’ll do it,” he says. “[Her] whole life has been about the kids and getting married, so if she can relive the marriage day, why not?”