Bailiffs spotted clearing out celebrity chef’s flagship London restaurant

Jamie Oliver’s restaurant chain has gone into administration — and this photo perfectly sums up the celebrity’s spectacular fall from grace.

He was the cheeky celebrity chef with the world at his feet.

But now, Jamie Oliver’s food empire is crumbling — and new photos show just how far he has fallen.

Earlier this month, news broke that Oliver’s UK restaurant chain had collapsed into administration, putting at least 1300 jobs at risk.

Jamie’s Italian Limited — which includes 23 Jamie’s Italian restaurants and 15 Barbecoa outlets — appointed KPMG as administrators, and Oliver himself addressed the collapse in an emotional statement, describing it as a “difficult time for everyone”.

But just days after that shock announcement was made, bailiffs were spotted clearing the chain’s flagship London store of furniture, cooking equipment and even cookbooks.

It reportedly took the workers four hours to remove tables, chairs and other items from the once-thriving eatery, which opened in 2014.

Jamie Oliver's flagship store near London’s Piccadilly Circus has been cleaned out. Picture: Matt Sprake/SplashNews.com

Oliver’s chain collapsed, with creditors owed thousands of pounds. Picture: Matt Sprake/SplashNews.com

Meanwhile, disgruntled staff members have told The Sun they were “sacked by email” and conference call just half an hour before the news was made public.

“Email is a pretty cold way to sack your staff,” one unnamed worker told the publication.

“It was only half-an-hour before it was all over the news. I’m really angry because Jamie won’t be the one looking for a job and struggling to pay his bills, it’ll be poor saps like us who worked for him.

“He and his management team got greedy. They believed their own hype and thought they’d make billions without investing in the business.”

WHAT WENT WRONG?

When it collapsed, the 43-year-old’s company had allegedly managed to rack up a stunning debt of more than $A130 million.

Oliver was previously forced to sell his Australian restaurants to Hallmark Group, close a number of underperforming establishments and inject $24 million of his own money into the business in an attempt to keep it afloat.

It has been a tough few years for Jamie Oliver. Picture: Ben Stansall/AFP

Dozens of restaurants have already shut down. Picture: Paul Ellis/AFP

As the crisis deepened last year, the father of five admitted he “honestly (didn’t) know” why his company was failing but claimed a “perfect storm” of “rents, rates, the high street declining, food costs, Brexit, (and) increase in the minimum wage” was to blame.

Meanwhile, a number of experts have also claimed changing consumer tastes — and the company’s inability to keep up with them — could have contributed to the collapse.

Tough economic conditions have also been put forward as a possible factor, along with a number of PR disasters involving Oliver himself.

Earlier this year, Aussie public relations expert Catriona Pollard told news.com.au Oliver’s downfall was caused by a series of classic PR blunders, including overexposure, a disconnect between his actions and his personal brand and a failure to address a number of controversies head-on.

Hundreds of jobs are now up in the air. Picture: Matt Sprake/SplashNews.com

Oliver said he was ‘deeply saddened’ by the collapse. Picture: Matt Sprake/SplashNews.com

And she said there was also a divide between Oliver’s relatable, “average Joe” image and his staggering fortune, estimated to be around $441 million.

“His personal brand is very much the ‘everyday lad’, but that doesn’t convert to a businessman who is so wealthy. There’s a disconnect between his everyday persona and his wealth,” she said.

Ms Pollard said it had also been a mistake to link his name so closely to his restaurants, as their failure was now inextricably linked to his personal reputation.

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