Planning gifts for a partner's milestone birthday isn't always easy even if you are Jennifer Aniston.
English celebrity chef Jamie Oliver went on the radio show Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie on Wednesday, July 31, and shared about the time he helped The Morning Show star come up with a tasty surprise for her then-husband Brad Pitt for his 40th birthday in 2003.
"I actually was Brad Pitt’s 40th birthday present from Jen," Jamie said. "She phoned up, and we put the phone down on her three times because we didn’t believe it was her."
Jamie Oliver is a English celebrity chef (Image: Getty Images for Royal Caribbean)
Jamie was Brad's gift from Jennifer (Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images for Emi)
"We thought it was someone trying it on. So she had to go through her agent to my agent, but I didn’t really have an agent, so it took a bit of a while. But basically, we got flown. I just did it,." he added.
He went on saying that Jennifer told him that Brad was a fan of his from Jamie's cooking show, The Naked Chef, which ran for four seasons from 1999 to 2001.
"She said 'Would you cook for Brad?'" Oliver . "He’s well into The Naked Chef and all that business, like he watches it on TV and all that. I said, 'Absolutely, and I’ll do it for love, because I love you guys.'"
He shared he was flown out for the occasion, something he doesn't usually do. Jamie elaborated that he doesn't "purposefully cook for celebrities" unless he's already working in the restaurant or if he's asked by someone he loves or admires, which Jennifer and Brad fit the bill of that exception.
Jennifer and Brad married in 2000 (Image: Getty Images)
They divorced in 2005 (Image: Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Since then Jaimie, has gone on to establish his career as the notable chef he is today with various cookbooks, shows and restaurants. The father of two also talked about how has maintained his friendship with the two since that fated birthday: "It was Brad’s 40th, so I’ve known him for 20 years now. They’re both beautiful people. I saw Jen a couple of weeks ago, and she’s everything you would want her to be, and more.”
Jamie's wife, Juliette Norton, also talked about the experience to Red magazine in 2014. She disclosed Jennifer's fellow Friends costar Courteney Cox was there and the awkwardness she felt when she had to socialize with all of them.
"Jamie was doing the dinner, so I had to sit and socialize with Brad and Rachel and Monica. I was so embarrassed, I didn’t know what to say. Brad had just done Troy and was taking his top off to show me his abs," she said. "From that moment on I just kind of took a step back from it all, it was all too much."
Jennifer and the Babylon actor married in Malibu in July 2000 and divorced in 2005. They first met in 1994 and started dating four years later in 1998.
