It ain't pukka for Jamie

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is ditching his "pukka" catchphrase because even he finds it annoying.

Oliver has vowed not to use the word again because it had turned him into a bit of a joke.

"I've always said it," he said. "But I try to avoid it now because I felt like I was becoming a cartoon of myself.

"It's weird because when you go to other countries, especially America, they keep asking you to say it and it drives you mad. 'Oh go on! Say pukka, pukka, pukka! Say easy peasy'. No!"

Oliver made his name with the Naked Chef series in which he referred to his recipes as "wicked", "lovely jubbly" and "pukka tukka".

He revealed a more serious side in the Channel 4 show Jamie's Kitchen, which saw him turn a group of disadvantaged youngsters into chefs at his London restaurant Fifteen.

Eight of the original 15 teenagers graduated recently from trainees to proper chefs and Oliver admitted he had mixed feelings about it.

"I didn't deal with it very well," the 28-year-old told the Evening Standard. "I was a bit down about it because, bizarrely, the students have become my mates and they're not a weight on the kitchen any more - they're running it."

Oliver is taking a year-long break from his TV and publishing commitments to concentrate on Fifteen and spend more time with wife Jools and their daughters Poppy Honey, 17 months, and four-month-old Daisy Boo.