Jamie Oliver's 15: A kitchen trainee who succeeded
by Sarah Crocker
Kerryann Dunlop was among the 15 trainees who made it into Jamie Oliver's kitchen - and survived! Channel 4 is re-broadcasting Jamie's Kitchen, about the celeb chef whipping out-of-work kids into shape, starting Tuesday 5 August, 10pm.
The first time it aired, millions followed the project - the setting up of a non-profit making restaurant in east London where he trained 15 underprivileged youngsters to become chefs in just four months.
We winced at some of the students' antics - when they turned up late for class, sulked, swore, or even quit. But one of the trainees who didn't give up is Kerryann Dunlop. She was the star of the show, loud and boisterous and sometimes downright cheeky, but she stuck with it. Now, this talented trainee is running her own section at Jamie's Fifteen restaurant.
Fifteen has just won Best Restaurant at the Tatler Restaurant Awards and is fully booked for the next few months. We spoke to Kerryann while she grabbed a break at the busy restaurant ...
iVillage: Thanks very much for chatting to us on a Friday night, it's probably your busiest time. What section are you working on at the moment, or do you tend to do a bit of everything?
Kerryann Dunlop: We're all doing little bits of everything really, but at the moment I'm running the pastry section. I'm on desserts, which I like because you get to make loads of nice stuff!
iVillage: How has Fifteen been going?
KD: Everyone's still really excited, we're all still really enjoying everything. We do get tired, but the happiness of working in the kitchen and stuff, and seeing everyone enjoying our food, kind of makes up for it.
iVillage: Have you found being in a working kitchen a lot tougher than the training you went through?
KD: No it's not, actually. As long as you know exactly what you've got to do and you don't miss anything out, you can make it as easy or as hard as you like really. The late nights and early mornings are tough. I've left here at 1.30 in the morning sometimes and had to be back in by 7.30am.
iVillage: Now that you've been doing it for a few months, do you think you want to stick it out as a chef?
KD: Yes, definitely. I'm going to be a chef!
iVillage: What's it like being a woman in the kitchen?
KD: The only women in the kitchen are trainees. It's alright though, we don't get treated any differently - it's very equal in our kitchen.
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Created: 18/02/2003 Updated: 08/08/2003
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