That same year, Oliver was invited to prepare lunch for the then- Prime Minister Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street.

In 1999, his BBC show The Naked Chef debuted, and his cookbook became a bestseller in the United Kingdom. He was noticed there by the BBC in 1997, after making an unscripted appearance in a documentary about the restaurant, Christmas at the River Cafe. Oliver moved to The River Café, Fulham, as a sous-chef. Oliver's first job was a pastry chef at Antonio Carluccio's Neal Street restaurant, where he first gained experience at preparing Italian cuisine, and developed a relationship with his mentor Gennaro Contaldo later in his career Oliver employed Contaldo to help run his collection of high street restaurants, Jamie's Italian. Oliver cooking at one of the Scandic Hotels in 2014