Fifteen is a restaurant group that uses the magic of food to give unemployed young people a chance to have a better future. The group is made up of three restaurants: the flagship Fifteen London established in 2002, Fifteen Amsterdam in December 2004 and Fifteen Cornwall in May 2006.

What we do

Fifteen was founded by Jamie Oliver in 2002. His vision was to create a professionally run kitchen, serving beautiful Italian food, alongside a pioneering Apprentice Programme. At the heart of the business is a desire to enable young people to believe in themselves, to show them their past can be left behind and persuade them the future is theirs to create. Every year, each restaurant recruits unemployed and under-qualified young people, aged between 18 and 24, from the local area and trains them to become qualified chefs through a unique Apprentice Programme. They are taught to love and respect food and its provenance - taking in everything from traditional bakery and butchery, to the finest pastry skills. As part of their course, apprentices also study professional cookery at college, get hands-on training in the Fifteen restaurant, learn about food provenance on sourcing trips and do work experience at some top restaurants. Apprentices graduate after 12 months of extensive training and start their journey of becoming the next generation of professional chefs.

'Fifteen' is named after the first group of 15 apprentices who embarked on the course in London in 2002. Since then, more than 220 young people have graduated across all the restaurants, with some of them now running their own restaurants, starring on TV or working in top-class kitchens from London to New York to Sydney. More than 90 per cent of apprentices stay in the business, and the programme is still growing.

Fifteen London is committed to sourcing seasonal, high quality ingredients from the best suppliers throughout the UK and Italy. Homemade produce is at the heartbeat of the restaurant, be it fresh pasta, breads, ice cream, a selection of cured meats, cordials, presses and alcoholic drinks such as limoncello, fennel liqueur, almond liqueur and creme liqueur, to name a few.

The profits from each restaurant are reinvested into the relevant charity set up for that area. Fifteen London's activities are implemented by the Jamie Oliver Foundation (registered charity number 1094536).

A word from Jamie

"I set up Fifteen because I believe young people have untapped talents, often hidden by problems in their home lives. These talents can be freed by a passion for good food and meaningful hard work.

Fifteen represents the way I would have loved to have been taught myself, it embraces many of the things I love and feel passionate about, not only in the catering industry but also in friendship and family life.

London is full of young people who struggle with traditional schooling, housing, social issues and have no steady work, if any. We are deeply passionate about these young people at Fifteen."

Jamie Oliver, Founder of Fifteen's Apprentice Programme