Jamie Oliver opens up on dyslexia and says kitchen saved him

The Herald Scotland

4 days ago

The show will dive into the challenges and issues children with dyslexia face in Britain while asking whether the Government can do more to fix the education system.
Having lived with the learning difficulty all his life, he said the documentary was "painful" and opened up about the topic.
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Jamie Oliver opens up on how the kitchen 'saved him'
The 50-year-old celebrity chef has lived with the learning difficulty all his life.
According to the NHS, dyslexia is described as a 'common learning difficulty that causes problems with reading, writing and spelling'.
Now, he is set to present a new documentary on the topic.
Speaking to the Sunday Times about the upcoming documentary, Oliver said: 'I'm unpacking quite a lot of stuff.
'I thought I'd buried it but it's hitting a nerve.
'Genuinely, of all the things I've ever done, this documentary is the most viscerally painful.
'I've seen so many high-flying, talented, grown men cry about this — I've just done it to you — the concept of being worthless (when you're) young is real. It's really triggering.'
Jamie Oliver has lived with dyslexia all of his life (Image: PA) Having left school with two GCSEs, the celebrity chef also opened up about the challenges he faced, admitting that the kitchen 'saved' him.
He said: 'I didn't have any extra time in exams, there were no strategies, just a bit of extra tutoring help.
'There was no robust dyslexic knowledge then.'
He also described feeling 'stupid, worthless and thick' and developing 'a hatred of words and a total resentment for education' while other students called him a 'stupid dunce', leaving him with a 'deep-seated feeling of constantly being behind'.
'I didn't tell mum, dad or the teachers. I just bottled it up inside.
'The kitchen saved me. I knew I had something to offer."
When is Jamie Oliver's dyslexia documentary on TV?
Jamie's Dyslexia Revolution will air on Channel 4 on June 9 at 9pm.
The Essex-born chef and author is known for hosting cooking shows and documentaries including The Naked Chef and Jamie's Kitchen.
He has also published a series of cookbooks, including Jamie's 30-Minute Meals.
Oliver has been an avid campaigner over the years, including calling on the Government for greater provisions for healthier school meals and playing a role in imposing a sugar tax on soft drinks.
He is now campaigning for greater support in schools, calling for early screenings for dyslexia and neurodiversity.
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He said: 'We also need more training for teachers. In a two to three-year training course only about half a day is given to neurodiversity.
'I've only got love for teachers, we need to appreciate them more.
'But they want to be trained, they want to have the tools to notice, understand and react.'