TV chef Jamie Oliver has admitted he "would be much stricter" with his and wife Jools Oliver's five children, but has to hold back because "Jools is much nicer than me".
The chef shares Poppy, 24, Daisy, 23, Petal, 17, Buddy, 15, and River, 10, with Jools, and has said he struggles with being inundated with requests for different meals from them all.
Stricter approach at mealtimes
He told The i Paper: "I do have that and I don’t like it. I would be much stricter, but Jools is much nicer than me. I’m like: ‘I don’t really care if you’re hungry. If you’re hungry, you’ll eat, and we’ll all eat the same thing.’"
However, Jamie also acknowledged that his daughters' different dietary requirements can make enjoying the same meal together very tricky.
Cooking for dietary needs
He divulged: "It’s lovely to cook one thing and everyone tucks into it, but I’ve got two gluten-intolerant girls, so it’s a pain if you want to do one pasta dish for everyone.
"And we’re a busy family, and not everyone comes home at the same time, because they finish school at different times, they’ve got after-school clubs or sports, so it’s about having dishes you can stagger – something that can hang around and keep warm to serve later is good.
I’ll do the same thing in different pans and add chilli to one, so they can choose whether or not to have it."
Children not always impressed
Despite having a professional chef as their dad, Jamie says that his children are sometimes "not impressed" by what he puts on the table.
He added: "At times they turn up and see what I’ve cooked, and they’re just not impressed. I’m like, ‘Listen, do you realise how lucky you are?’ They’ll learn one day.”
Jamie and Jools have been married since 2000. The Jamie's Italian restaurateur recently ruled out expanding their brood with a sixth child, telling Chris Moyles that he feels "over the hill".
He explained on Radio X: "I think we're done. I think I'm over the hill, I'm 51-years-old."
When Chris cheekily suggested Jamie has five children "that he knows of," the TV star sheepishly admitted: "I said that once for a laugh and she said 'That's not funny'. She told me off and she's absolutely right."
