AMERICAN WAY: Obviously, you're a big music fan, a
fact that is underscored by the tasty selections on Fifteen's sound
system. Where around town do you go to hear it live?
OLIVER: As far as clubs go, Jazz Café is really good. They
get a lot of modern acts, sometimes acid jazz or soul music. It's
in Camden and is dead funky, which I find to be very cool. But I am
still a massive lover of Ronnie Scott's. I love the place because
it exudes this kind of American style from the '50s and '60s. It's
a real music lover's place. I find it to be totally inspiring.
AMERICAN WAY: Do any particular nights there stand
out?
OLIVER: My wife, Jools, took me there when we were just
boyfriend and girlfriend. It was my 21st or 23rd birthday. Roy
Ayers was playing, and I love Roy Ayers. Jools was kind enough to
get us fed there, which is always a bad move, but I went ahead with
it so as not to upset her. Ronnie Scott came out before Roy Ayers'
set, and he said, "If you're eating the burger" - which I was -
"and happen to find a hair, don't complain. Our chef's a gorilla."
I felt really sick after hearing that, but it was still a good
night.
AMERICAN WAY: Let's cut to a more savory tip. When
you're leaving town and you want to bring a gift to a fellow
foodie, where do you shop before taking off?
OLIVER: Definitely a cheese store. Either Neal's Yard Dairy
or La Fromagerie. I like to get the best of Scottish, Welsh, Irish,
and English cheeses. Here's what I go for: Keen's Cheddar, which is
eating well at the moment; Stinking Bishop, a really creamy, soft,
and wonderful cheese that smells much stronger than it actually is;
and Wigmore, which is the English equivalent of brie. The other
thing I do is go to Blagden's, a fishmonger with the best smoked
Scotch salmon in the world. I take it to people in
Japan and Italy
and they go absolutely mental.