Jamie Oliver thanks fans for sticking with him following difficult year

Jamie Oliver has thanked his fans after winning the Best Food Personality award at Thursday night's Observer Food Monthly awards and his heartfelt message addressed the highs and lows of the past year. In an Instagram video, the celebrity chef said: "Hi guys hope you're well. Listen, I just wanted to do a little thank you to everyone at the Observer Food Monthly. I got the award last night for Best Food Personality and that was voted for by the public and I just wanna say that that means such a lot to me. It's been a hell of a year."

The father-of-five continued: "It’s had its ups and its downs and to have the public – you guys – still supporting me in the thing that I do is amazing and I'm really humbled and I'm grateful. I really try hard to make cooking shows that are helpful and are useful, solve problems sometimes… campaigns, documentaries. I do it for you. So to get this award means a lot at a time when a pat on the back is really, really, really appreciated. So lots of love."

© Photo: Instagram

Jamie thanked his fans on Instagram

In May, Jamie said he was "deeply saddened" after confirming that his restaurant group had called in administrators when it struggled to find a buyer. "I appreciate how difficult this is for everyone affected. I would also like to thank all the customers who have enjoyed and supported us over the last decade, it’s been a real pleasure serving you,” Jamie said in a statement at the time. 

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Jamie won the award on Thursday night 

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He added: "We launched Jamie’s Italian in 2008 with the intention of positively disrupting mid-market dining in the UK high street, with great value and much higher quality ingredients, best in class animal welfare standards and an amazing team who shared my passion for great food and service. And we did exactly that."

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