From YouTube to BBC television: the debut on the small screen confirms the talent of Buddy Oliver, Jamie's son. But is he too young?
The News
The Oliver family saga continues. This time, though, the star of the next BBC cooking show isn't the famous British chef Jamie - who has been a fixture on British TV screens since 1999 when he was just 23 - but his son Buddy, who is only 12 years old.
The young Exesse student, already known to web users thanks to his YouTube channel "Cooking Buddies," which boasts a whopping 133,000 followers, has been chosen by the BBC to host a program where he will teach other children to cook healthy dishes. Buddy began his "career in cooking shows" about three years ago when, during the pandemic, he appeared in a YouTube video alongside his father Jamie. "He's not a special kid; all kids are brilliant and extremely receptive: when they repeat things a couple of times, they become good - whether it's cricket, boxing, gymnastics, or cooking. Buddy happened to have a mackerel in his hands, and he cooked it for his brother River with excellent results! When I managed the restaurant Fifteen, where most of the kitchen teams consisted of young people who were unemployed, came from prison or difficult backgrounds, I realized that connecting them with farmers, artisans, and fishermen could change their lives. This is what matters, and I hope it's the same for Buddy if his dream is to pursue this path," Jamie confided to the Daily Mail, noting that he won't be participating in Buddy's show.
Indeed, Oliver hopes that his son won't be classified as a "Nepo baby" (a term used to refer to the children of famous individuals who are facilitated in their careers), and it seems he's succeeding, even though comparisons are inevitable. "He has his father's charisma, and I particularly like the fact that they let him behave like a child, with all the mistakes that entails. I find it charming because it's exactly what happens in our lessons: nothing is perfect. Buddy will bring his father's experience to the small screen, but in his own way, as a twelve-year-old. He has already had great success with his content on YouTube and Instagram. Jamie's fans have long been asking for his son to have the right platform to entertain their children," says Cathy Harding, founder of Cook Stars, an organization that offers cooking lessons in schools publicly and privately throughout the United Kingdom.
