Jamie Oliver talks to Mark Taylor about his vision for a food democracy – and his master plan for a chain of signature restaurants across the country

JAMIE Oliver. Two words that are guaranteed to divide opinion, whoever you talk to. Loved and hated in equal measure, Oliver has lived his life in the media spotlight for the past 10 years, since he bounded on to our TV screens as

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The Naked Chef

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In the past decade, he has risen from "cheeky geezer" chef to hard-hitting campaigner, improving school dinners and highlighting the horrors of battery chickens.

Along the way, he has written a clutch of best-selling books, has his name on everything from frying pans to crockery, and successfully launched the Fifteen restaurants and charity.

With an estimated fortune of £25 million and a substantial annual pay cheque from Sainsbury's, the 33-year-old publican's son from Essex has done very nicely, thank you. But the man responsible for the death of the Turkey Twizzler still has some unfinished business when it comes to restaurants.

Earlier this year, Oliver launched the first of his Jamie's Italian restaurants in Oxford. A relaxed, informal bistro serving Italian food – much of it Jamie's signature dishes – it has, inevitably, been a runaway success, with people literally queuing around the block for a table (hardly surprising really as there is no booking policy).

Next week, Jamie opens the second restaurant in the chain – this time in Bath – and it promises to be the city's biggest foodie tourist attraction before the doors even open.

With our high streets dotted with branches of Strada, Carluccio's and Piccolino, among others, Jamie's Italian enters a crowded market of affordable Italian restaurants, but the celebrity chef is upbeat, confident and hopes that Oxford and Bath are the start of several more over the next few years.

"If I was going to be quaint and a bit pretentious, I'd say we're not a chain, we're a collection, but that is quaint and pretentious so I won't say that," laughs Jamie. "But I think long-term, we're looking at 25 great sites in 25 great cities."

So, what is the essential difference between other chains and Jamie's Italian? Well, there's the produce, for a start. Jamie's buying power means that he can snap up the very best Italian produce at source – the best mozzarella, the finest charcuterie, the silkiest, fruitiest olive oil. And then there's the fresh pasta, which is made by hand on the premises.

"I call it 'non-vulnerable'," smiles Jamie. "Things like sourcing wonderful oil, the best prosciutto and mozzarella, the best olives. You just work hard on sourcing and all you're doing is assembling. It involves a lot of travelling for me and my team, but it makes it easier.

"The whole Jamie's Italian thing is no fluke. We've spent years wanting to offer something really good. We want to over-deliver on the food front but also undercharge." Jamie's Italian is certainly affordable. Cheap, even, considering the quality of the produce being used.

Starters range from the crispy polenta chips with rosemary salt at £2.95 to the meat antipasti "plank" at £6.50. Main courses start at about £8.50 and rarely tip over £16.

And the menu has Jamie's personality stamped all over it. Signature dishes with their appropriate cheeky chap descriptions include: Jamie's Italian Spaghetti Bolognese, Turbo! Penne Arrabiatta, Good Old Grilled Steak and Our Special Tiramisu.

So, how can he offer such good food so cheaply, especially in this economic climate?

"Everyone in the world will say they offer great value and great produce," says Jamie. "Nobody's going to say it's cheap crap. But, whether it's motivation or paranoia, there's no way in my situation I couldn't be whiter than white and source from authentic places in Italy or Great British suppliers."

Jamie's Italian is such a simple concept. Is he afraid of other businesses ripping it off?

"We've had some very good reviews and we've already had lots of heads of breweries and pub chains checking us out. You can see them taking notes.

"You just know they're going back to head office saying 'right, we're going to source mozzarella like that' but they won't because I get it from a family in Italy who supply only me.

"I can imagine them taking pictures on their mobile phones of our wooden antipasti planks, but we have a guy called Nick who makes all of our boards. They haven't got a Nick, just a dodgy old carpenter. We've tried to bespoke everything so people can't copy it."

The Oxford restaurant has already attracted glowing reviews, which has caught Jamie by surprise, as he has always had a love-hate relationship with the critics.

"Yes, I wind up some journalists and others love me.

"Eight out of 10 reviews have been great and the reason for that is, regardless of their opinion of me, they look at the concept and they can tell it's a £1 million fit-out, the plates and the glasses are the best and even the tiles on the toilet floor. And the food is very good.

"It will never be amazing or incredible but it's very good value and it's got provenance. The critics can tell I'm punching in all the right places at the right level."

As in Oxford, there is a no-bookings policy in Bath unless it's for parties of eight or more. Jamie says it's purely for practical reasons and because he wants the restaurant to appeal to everybody, rather than being an exclusive place.

"The problem we had at Fifteen was that we were fully booked for three years. It was anarchy. By getting rid of the booking, it saves us having to answer thousands of phone calls. We're doing 4,500 people a week, so that's 4,500 phone calls and if we're phoning back to confirm most of them are on voicemail. That's 10,000 phone calls, which means about four extra staff. That's a tremendous cost.

"The other reason is that at Fifteen, we would be booked up for six months in advance but we would be filled up with tourists, which is fine, but you never form any reliable bonds or relationships with your regulars.

"In Bath, I want to be feeding the local students, nurses, teachers, the middle classes, the upper classes. I do think it's something for everyone. I want it to be a place where people can pop in for breakfast and lunch and also a place where you put a nice shirt on and come out for a first date in the evening."

At a time when more restaurants are closing than opening, Jamie certainly makes running them look frighteningly easy. Is there a secret formula, or is it purely down to simply having the money to do it?

"People say it must be really easy, but the only person funding this is me. I don't have spare cash to open a chain of restaurants, I haven't got that.

"These sites are in the middle of cities and I haven't got a single lease that's not less than £120k a year, for 15-20 years.

"It's more than a mortgage – this is being paid for by me; it's from the bank and my house is the guarantee.

"If I mess it up, the house goes, which is about as serious as it gets. I don't think I'm going to mess it up, and I wouldn't do that to my family, but I've had to force myself to be aggressive.

"If I hadn't found the team I have I would have messed up by now and if I hadn't found the sites I've got, it just wouldn't have got the volume of customers through and if I didn't have the volume through, I couldn't charge the low prices I'm charging."

Jamie may be in a position where he can afford to take a few risks but what keeps him so motivated and passionate?

"It's very hard to convince people I'm not just saying this, but it's not about the money.

"I've made enough mistakes and got my fingers burned and messed up a few things, but business-wise you want to tick some boxes and not be an idiot. Money is not the motivator. It's about being creative." Talking to Jamie, it's hard to believe he has been a public figure for only 10 years, but it's equally as surprising to see what he's achieved at the age of 33. In a career of highs and lows, what's his proudest achievement so far?

"I think School Dinners is still up there as the proudest moment. People just wanted information and a lot of people acted on that.

"Over the past year, I've had my arse spanked over it, but I knew that when you make radical change, numbers go down and when you offer a good service, the numbers go up.

"I think we're in the early stages where primary school numbers are going up and secondary schools are still a problem. I think I'll have another two years of flak, but you've got to think 'big picture'.

"I always knew it would take 10 years, although it would take seven if we had a really engaged Government."

Jamie has certainly come a long way since he was spotted by a television crew in the kitchens of fashionable London restaurant River Cafe.

His rise was a meteoric one and one that he has managed to sustain through re-inventing himself over the past decade and regaining the public's trust and respect through Fifteen and School Dinners.

But what if he hadn't been plucked from obscurity all those years ago? What would he be doing now?

"I think I'd be running a pub in Cambridge- shire, probably cooking the same sort of stuff I'm cooking now," laughs Jamie. "I never planned to be on telly and never thought what has happened would happen.

"I love what I'm doing and Jamie's Italian is genuinely exciting.

"I've spent seven years setting up Fifteen, which is a charity, but I needed to do something that was tangible and that was mine. I'm just trying to act my age now!"

Jamie's Italian opens in Milsom Place, Bath, on October 6.