Jamie Oliver choked up as he talked, having always had a ‘chip on my shoulder’ after dealing with dyslexia in school.
The 47-year-old £1 Wonders chef, who just repeated his marriage vows with wife Jools Oliver, revealed he was diagnosed with the cognitive disability while studying.
Jamie described why his children’s book Billy and the Giant Adventure, which was released today, was his’most significant’ on Thursday’s BBC Breakfast.
He explained:’I’m dyslexic so words to me have always been quite scary. I’ve always had a chip on my shoulder about it. That was a problem at school for me learning.
‘Were you diagnosed at school? Or did you find out later?’ presenter Naga Munchetty, 48, asked The Naked Chef.
Explaining his dyslexia, Jamie replied: ‘Afterwards, but like, classic racing words, good days, bad days, letters around the wrong way, can’t focus.
‘So my whole life since leaving school has been about problem-solving the things I’m bad at to be functional and to be able to do what I want to do.
‘And the great thing for the kitchen was the kitchen genuinely did save me because school was tough.
Jamie noted that youngsters with dyslexia frequently have ‘great imaginations’ but are unable to express their ideas on paper, and he authored his first three cookbooks using dictaphone.
‘This for me was finally brushing the chips off my shoulder,’ Jamie continued about the book, choking up.
Breaking down, Jamie added: ‘This is the most important book I’ve ever published for me emotionally because it feels like I’ve fully got out of the baggage of how kids feel when they’re not made to feel like they can learn properly at school.’
‘It sounds like you’re getting quite emotional now talking about it,’ Naga remarked.
Jamie previously stated that he does not consider his dyslexia to be a barrier and that it has been a ‘gift’ to his profession since it allows him to think differently.
Speaking to Jessie Ware on the Table Manners podcast, Jamie explained: ‘I’ve never struggled – my brain works in quite a weird way and I often imagine how it tastes and put concepts together in my head. I can 85% smell it and almost taste it, I’m normally about right.
‘I’ve found my dyslexia to be such a gift in the job. I’m humbled and excited that MI5 employ dyslexics specifically. Dyslexics look at problem-solving in a totally different way. This is why dyslexia is a gift, not a problem.’
BBC Breakfast airs weekdays from 6am on BBC One and iPlayer.
Source My Celebrity Life.
