Eilís Doherty, the director behind CMAT’s recent music video, stated that her efforts to provoke an angry reaction from celebrity chef Jamie Oliver during filming were unsuccessful.
The video in question is for CMAT’s song “The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station.” It features the Irish singer (real name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson) expressing a strong dislike for Oliver within the lyrics, notably with the line, “God, I hate him.”
Doherty admitted to her initial surprise when Oliver agreed to appear in the music video. “But I also was like, he’s a smart man, because I think being able to laugh at yourself in that way is so powerful,” she explained. She also speculated that Oliver’s daughters, who are reportedly CMAT fans, might have influenced his decision to participate.
The visual narrative of the music video alternates between CMAT performing in a stylized, retro studio setting and Oliver working within a busy restaurant kitchen. The two environments converge when Oliver joins CMAT on drums.
According to Doherty, Oliver was receptive to all suggested actions on set. However, he found it challenging to embody the overtly temperamental persona typically associated with television chefs. Doherty, originally from Letterkenny in County Donegal, has established a career directing advertising campaigns for prominent international brands. Her initial collaboration with Dublin-based artist CMAT stemmed from a direct message sent during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Since that initial project, the duo has collaborated on eight music videos together. Doherty expressed her admiration for working with artists who possess a strong sense of self and identity. “As a director when someone is so sure of themselves, when they’re so good at performing and have such a strong identity, you’re like, okay, the cake is half baked,” she stated. “So working with someone like that is like a dream.”
Doherty was also involved in developing the visual concept for CMAT’s performance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” which drew inspiration from Donegal’s rally car scene. For their latest project featuring Jamie Oliver, the team traveled to London to film at one of his Italian chain restaurants, which was in the process of preparing for a reopening.
The filming schedule was constrained to just two hours, contributing to a hectic atmosphere during the restaurant shoot. “I don’t think I was ever on a set that had so many other people walking around that weren’t involved in the film making, like they were training in the kitchen or setting up furniture and decorating the space for the opening,” Doherty recalled. She described having to ask kitchen staff to move out of their shots, leading to their surprised reactions.
Doherty confirmed that Oliver fully embraced the concept and was willing to try nearly anything to enhance the video’s effectiveness. However, she had been informed prior to the shoot that he would refrain from using profanity.
“I was just like, it’d be so funny if he just went full Jeremy Allen White in The Bear,” she commented, referencing the intense character portrayed by Jeremy Allen White in the series “The Bear.” She also attempted to encourage a more uninhibited performance by suggesting various stressful scenarios. Despite these prompts, Oliver struggled to convey anger.
“I genuinely don’t think he gets mad at his staff because he just couldn’t do it,” she said, recounting her attempts to simulate pressure. “I was trying to shout things like ‘you have 20 orders in and the chef isn’t doing anything right’ and he’d be like, ‘that’s not me.'”
For the video’s visual style, Doherty took inspiration from 1970s television programs such as “The Brady Bunch” and “The Cher Show,” blending stylized, theatrical performance segments with more chaotic restaurant scenes.
She described Oliver as a pleasant individual to collaborate with. Following the completion of filming, he remained to converse with the crew and even prepared food for them.
CMAT has previously explained on a podcast that the song’s theme is less a direct accusation leveled at Oliver and more an examination of irrational feelings and the tendency to misdirect such emotions. Doherty noted that while the initial concept for the video emerged from a humorous premise, the final product has acquired a more earnest tone.
“Because it’s like a beautiful moment that this song, like dissing this guy, but not really dissing. For him to then come into the video and give everything, I think that really stays with people,” Doherty said. “It’s like oh, they actually came together and it’s created a really nice moment.”
She believes this collaborative outcome is contributing to the video’s positive reception. Doherty also pointed to audience comments online, such as, “‘I wasn’t a Jamie Oliver fan before but now I think I am.'”