Wahey!" says Jamie Oliver. "Oh that is brilliant. I've won Food Personality of the Year? Again? Blimey!" He pauses and mulls the good news that OFM readers' votes have won him this award for the third year in a row. "Why do you think they voted for me, then?"
Sorry, Jamie, but that's a stupid question. It's hard to think of a chef who comes close if you consider the sheer ambition of Oliver's work over the years, and 2010 was no exception.
His campaign to promote healthy eating and fight obesity had caught the attention of TED, the non-profit organisation that runs conferences often referred to as the "Davos of ideas" because so many of the world's big hitters attend. In February, Oliver gave an acceptance speech in California after being awarded the 2010 TED prize.
"I was nervous about letting myself down," he admits. "Because I'm dyslexic and under pressure the words on my notes turn into weird things. And there are a lot of familiar faces staring at you – Al Gore, Bill Gates."
The winner of a TED award – previous recipients include Bill Clinton and novelist Dave Eggers – gets $100,000 to help put his ideas into practice. Oliver used it to continue the work started for his American show, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, which aired in the US in March, a few weeks after his TED speech. Bringing healthy eating to Huntington, West Virginia, one of the unhealthiest cities in the States, was not easy. The ire that Oliver encountered from British children, parents and dinner ladies when he tackled nutrition in Jamie's School Dinners was nothing compared to the open aggression he met in Huntington.
"The first months were not nice," says Oliver carefully, "but in the end we had massive street parties, farmers' markets and were given the keys to the city by the mayor. It was one extreme to the other."
The show not only proved to be a ratings winner, but also won the 2010 Emmy for outstanding reality programme. "What an achievement," says Oliver, "though I should bloody hope so, because I didn't enjoy it much."
Glutton for punishment that he is, Oliver is going back for a second series, which he says was harder to green-light than the first. "In 10 years of working in British TV doing fairly controversial programmes, not once has an advertiser told me what to do. In America it's very different, the first series got out there under the radar, but the advertising made it harder second time round."
You can't help but wonder why Oliver does it. Surely, sometimes, he must be tempted to just enjoy the success of his restaurant business?
"It's hard to explain," he admits. "It's hard on my family and my employees, it disrupts everything to no commercial gain – well, none that my team can see. It's a constant battle, to be honest. The only way I can explain is that I was only 21 when I started and after four years of being on TV and selling cookbooks I was struggling with success. I grew up in a family where my old man taught me to earn an old-fashioned pound. Then you put a book out at 21 and the British public make you quite wealthy.
"By then I'd made enough mistakes to realise that my instinct was generally right. And this seemed the right thing to do. I also realised that I had a peculiar relationship with the public. When I stand up and shout about something, people prick up their ears and listen. I've never lied to the public and I've been consistent."
Success overseas does not mean he's neglecting his campaigns at home, though. He has openly criticised news that his Rotherham Ministry of Food centre may close because of government spending cuts. But of the new government, he tells me: "It's early days, babe. They're all new and getting used to the responsibility – my main worry is that school food and the profound importance of education remain at a flashing Belisha beacon critical for the next 10 years."
He was heartened by the public reaction in the summer to comments made by education minister Nick Gibb about relaxing school-dinner guidelines on fat, salt and sugar at the new academies. "The press and parents gave him such a big bitch slap, I didn't have to do anything. That was nice, feeling the support out there."
Oliver is as much about cooking as campaigning, and this month sees the launch of Barbacoa, a joint venture with American chef Adam Perry Lang. With interior design by Tom Dixon and a view of St Paul's Cathedral, the restaurant will look like nothing else. Oliver says the wood and charcoal-cooked food will be just as spectacular.
"I've never seen anything like Barbacoa in the world, definitely not in England. Of course, 100 years ago everyone was cooking on wood and charcoal. You use your instinct more and the wood would give you different flavours, it's like a third seasoning. It's a giant, expensive experiment, though. We've put two years' development and hard work into it. "Without being blunt," he says bluntly, "Barbacoa cost £2.8m on a whim and a dream and at the moment it's a bit like when you buy a big present for your mum and you don't know if she's going to like it."
This autumn not only brings British viewers the chance to see Oliver's work in Huntington but also a new TV series, Jamie's 30-Minute Meals (which does exactly what the title suggests). He has also just welcomed Buddy, the fourth member of the Oliver brood, into the world. Really, with so many personal and professional achievements, the question isn't how could he win an award, but how could he not?
"It's great being so busy and enjoying yourself doing all these different things," says Oliver. "Time goes so quick, you blink and another birthday goes by. I mean, bloody hell, one of my kids is eight now, lanky and up to my boobs. I wouldn't change it for the world, though."
