More chefs quit Jamie's kitchen

He proudly named it Fifteen, after the number of would-be chefs he had painstakingly trained to work in the establishment.

But following a successful opening watched by millions of Channel 4 viewers, Jamie Oliver's new restaurant has been dealt a blow as the 15 hopefuls who started out fell to just ten.

After three wannabes quit during the run-up to the grand opening, another two have dropped out in the last week.

They are Nicola Andronicou, 17, and Nicola Smith - both noted for their absenteeism - who are going back to college.

Oliver has denied their departure has put his ambitious project in peril but it will be a blow to the 27-year- old who has invested months of time and effort in his young trainees - and £800,000 of his own money.

More than 6million fans of his show, Jamie's Kitchen, have watched him toil to turn the 15 jobless hopefuls into master chefs to work in his £1.2milllion restaurant in East London.

The 15 were chosen from 1,500 applicants, many of them from impoverished backgrounds.

Some failed to realise the chance they had been offered, however. Oliver despaired when some let him down, turning up late or answering back. He faced another hurdle after 11 of the 15 failed their exams.

To make matters worse, just before the show began being broadcast in November one trainee quit after a row with Oliver's team.

Michael Pizzey, 17, suffered a number of mishaps, including

accidentally setting fire to a tea towel. He walked out after a bustup with senior trainer Tony Elvin.

Then Roberto di Mambro, 22, walked out to work in a bar. Another quitter was 18-year-old Dwayne Montford, who was asked to leave after he repeatedly failed to turn up for work placements. Oliver ploughed on and seemed to have turned a corner after the restaurant opened on November 5 to rave reviews. It is now booked up until March.

Last week he said the students were 'bonding and everyone is good friends' after he took them on a trip to Italy.

He admitted he had grown close to them when he told the Daily Mail: 'To start with, I didn't want to know too much about them - but that didn't last and now I absolutely do care about them.'

The departure of the two Nicolas will be a personal blow to the young chef, but his spokesman said: ' We are hopeful they could return next year. They have some course work they need to complete.

'But Fifteen is working brilliantly. There will be a fresh intake in the spring of new students.'

All the profits from 15 go to Oliver's charity Cheeky Chops, which is looking for more trainees for the next series of Jamie's Kitchen.