Being a celebrity chef certainly comes with its perks but as Jamie Oliver recently admitted, it can also be bittersweet.
The British restaurateur turned author has revealed the long and erratic hours can make it difficult to enjoy a normal life outside of the kitchen.
So much so that the self-confessed workaholic has been feeling extremely sleep-deprived, and it’s been the biggest battle of his life to fight it.
Chatting to the Mail, the father of four compared his inability to fall and stay asleep to that of alcohol addiction.
“I got to a point this summer where I had to do something. I knew there was something wrong with me,” he said.
“On a fundamental level I wasn’t functioning like a normal person. I’d sit down in the office, fall asleep, and start dribbling. Not pretty. Not good.
“I feel like I should be admitting to being an alcoholic – people get that. But my thing is not sleeping.”
Loved for his cheeky and charming persona, Jamie, who struggles to stay in bed past 5am every morning, says he is now on a mission to get his life back on track.
“I don’t want to sound like a total knob but I knew I had to actually address my relationship with myself, because was what it was all about. I used to go to bed with Jools around 11 and even she thought I was going to sleep, but I’d get up, I’d be on emails, catching up till 2am.
Since making a conscious effort to go to bed early, the 39-year-old has since lost over 10kg and is feeling happier and healthier than ever.
“I’ve got healthier and I’ve got more energy. I’m sharper in my head and more sober in the way I think,” he said.
