Oliver denies he’s on catering duty for Brangelina’s upcoming wedding

Jamie Oliver has laughed off reports that he has been hired to do the catering for the upcoming wedding of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

The celebrity chef was speaking as he launched this year’s four-day Taste of Dublin food festival in a rain-sodden Iveagh Gardens in the city centre.

Oliver said: “No, I haven’t been asked to do it — but I certainly will if I’m asked. They’re a lovely family. But all these rumours go around, I don’t hear half of them as I’m too busy working. They say that Brad wants shepherd’s pie for the main course? I wouldn’t say he’s ever heard of it to be honest.”

Oliver said he was excited about the opening of one of his Jamie’s Italian restaurants in the Dundrum Centre in the near future. He will be employing local staff and sourcing as much meat, vegetables, milk, and fruit as he can in Ireland.

“I’m not going to change the menu specially for Ireland, it will all be down to the local produce,” he said.

“I never change things for certain palates. I’ll be back here for the launch and I won’t be pretending to work in the kitchen. My job in all of my restaurants is to write the menus, create a culture, and pick the top management and chefs.”

Oliver said he strives to divide his life into healthy food campaigning, work, and spending time with his family — he has four young children.

“I try to balance all three things as best I can. Sometimes it’s not easy.”

The Taste of Dublin will run until Sunday night, with chefs such as Derry Clarke, Kevin Thornton, Darina Allen, and Jean Christophe Novelli all taking part in demonstrations and cook-ins.