ALMOST 10 years ago Jamie Oliver took a £2m gamble and set up an Italian restaurant in what was known as ‘puke alley.’

And yesterday, the Naked Chef returned to his thriving George Street restaurant to bring some new flavours to its menu and reminisce about the past decade.

Taking a trip down memory lane, Mr Oliver said: “We were warned not to come to George Street, it was named ‘puke alley’ and there were only two vendors in the street.

“If you look at the high street now it is full of different places to go, there’s a lot of competition.

“I would like to think we were the people that created a moment where we spent a couple of million quid on a building, put a lot of love and care into it and I think that gave other business the confidence to start here.

“Hopefully people do not know George Street as puke alley anymore.”

Two years ago, the unit next door to Jamie’s Italian became available and Mr Oliver decided to launch one of the country’s first Jamie’s Pizzerias.

The 41-year-old was at the eatery to talk about his new pizzas - available from next Wednesday - and the independently-sourced ingredients that go into them.

The father-of-five added: “When we opened Jamie’s Italian people kept asking ‘where’s the pizza?’ You’re supposed to be an Italian.

“And I suppose we were a little slow off the mark there and finally decided opened up the Pizzeria. Although we signed the lease first in Cambridge, Oxford was the first to open.”

And his favourite on the menu? The one named after his wife of 17 years Jools - the best-selling ‘Julietta’, based on a margherita.

Other pizzas include ‘the Chilli Freak’, which is so hot it is served alongside ‘cooling yoghurt’.

Talking shop, Mr Oliver said the restaurant industry as a whole had not been ‘given a break’ in years.

He said: “I do not know how much the industry can take, we are trying not to put the prices up to the public.

“But if you’re a living way employer and you are taking on apprentices, which I have done for the last 15 years, and you’ve got all the other overheads something has got to give.

“The restaurant industry has not had a break and if you continue to push rates up it is going to quash any creativity because people cannot afford to do it.”

Recently Mr Oliver opened his second steakhouse Barbecoa in Piccadilly, which features Argentinian grills and wood-fired ovens.

And the TV star hinted that the chain could come to Oxford, with the city ‘pretty high on the list’.