Shell’s kitchen: Jamie Oliver launches deli range at petrol stations across the UK

TV chef Jamie Oliver has defended his partnership with Shell as he prepares to launch a new deli range across the oil giant’s service stations.

The restaurateur and UN environmental champion said the deal will help him bring healthier food-to-go to more people, despite criticism from groups such as Greenpeace.

Read more: Restaurant profits plummet by 80 per cent as overfed chains struggle to fill table

“I think I’ve earned trust over the last 20 years and I would hope that people think I’ve thought about it correctly. I can stick up for what’s in the stores and where it’s come from,” he told the Press Association.

The range, which has been in the pipeline since at least November, includes classic sandwiches, but also salads, sushi, hotpots and kids mealboxes.

The roll-out follows pressure from consumers for healthier choices at forecourts, Shell said.

“Food on the go is going to become a far bigger, more normal part of everyone’s busy, modern lives – so it’s essential we make it more enjoyable through better-quality ingredients and exciting flavours,” Oliver said in a statement.

The chef’s business has been on a rough ride over the past two years, losing three finance chiefs and being forced to close around a dozen restaurants.

Oliver was eventually forced to sink almost £13m of his own money into the business to keep it afloat.

Read more: Third Jamie Oliver Group finance executive quits in just over a year

Istvan Kapitany, a boss at Shell Retail, said: “Across the UK we’re seeing a growing trend towards healthier food, but it has to taste good and be convenient.

“Working with Jamie and his team, this exciting new range has been designed to give our customers the choices they want when they’re on the move.”