The Comforting Pasta Dish Jamie Oliver Would Choose For His Last Meal

We are often curious to know what a chef would choose for their last meal, perhaps because it gives insight into the responder's tastes and values. A last meal is typically a comforting or nostalgic dish representing family or happy times. Whether choosing an exorbitant or meaningful option, simple or decadent, it tells us something about the person. After all, Ina Garten's last meal is a completely unexpected choice: french fries and hot dogs. In Melanie Dunea's 2011 book "My Last Supper: The Next Course: 50 More Great Chefs and Their Final Meals: Portraits, Interviews, and Recipes," cookbook author Bobby Flay unsurprisingly chose a cheeseburger for his last meal. And British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver chose the ridiculously easy spaghetti all'arrabbiata, a pasta with a spicy red sauce, chilies, garlic, and onion. The word "arrabbiata" means angry in Italian, and its use as the name hints at the spiciness of the sauce. 

Spaghetti all'arrabbiata is a simple, rustic dish from the Lazio region. Choosing a down-to-earth plate shows that Oliver prefers comforting dishes over extravagant or complicated foods. His choice (and each of Garten's and Flay's choices) suggests that many people would opt for something that feels warm, satisfying, and deeply familiar in the face of life's final moments.

As you might expect of an accomplished chef, Jamie Oliver said he would prepare his arrabbiata sauce himself, changing things from the classic recipe to give it his twist. His recipe additions? Three types of chilies to give it extra punch. (Although Oliver doesn't mention it, adding burrata would turn spaghetti all'arrabbiata into a ridiculously easy three-ingredient meal and serve as the perfect balance for the super-spicy preparation.)

His choice of Italian food aligns with Oliver's love of the country's cuisine, proven by some of his most well-known endeavors, like his cookbook, "Jamie's Italy," and the television series "Jamie's Great Italian Escape." His now-closed restaurant chain, Jamie's Italian, also focused on the Italian comfort food Oliver adores.

Jamie Oliver even described the scene of his last supper: He would eat his spaghetti all'arrabbiata at his home in Essex with his wife Jools, pairing the dish with a Hoegaarden beer. For dessert, he would savor homemade rice pudding, stressing that it must be cold and covered with hot caramelized peaches. In his description of the recipe on his website, he explains that rice pudding was a dish his mom made for him as a child, bringing his last meal full circle as a simple comfort-inducing experience perfect for the occasion.