Too many cooks failed to spoil a charity feast put on by Jamie Oliver's young recruits from the Fifteen Foundation in London.

Oliver, 34, was flanked by some of the biggest names from the restaurant world, including Jimmy Doherty, James Martin, Rachel Allen, Gennaro Contaldo, Giorgio Locatelli and MasterChef winner Thomasina Miers for a night of fine dining on Thursday.

It was the largest gathering of celebrity chefs the Naked Chef has ever brought together for his annual Big Night Out event, and he said he was honoured so many had turned out to support him.

"I'm really proud," he said. "We've got a wonderful selection of some of the best chefs in the country here - it's nice to have a bit of back-up.

"We're all passionate about young people and ultimately the catering industry needs young people to come through to stay alive and to keep at the forefront of some of the best cooking in the world."

And the Essex-born chef wondered why they do not all do it more often.

"What English chefs don't do enough is come together and act as one. I wish I'd had back-up like this when I did school dinners."

But he said he felt no pressure cooking for his peers and wowed them with an ambitious spaghetti vongole that he joked "was hard cooking for 25 people, let alone 250".

Jazz musician Jamie Cullum provided the entertainment for his friend's big night. He said: "It's a great endeavour set up by someone who's not only talented but knows how to use his talent for the greater good. He's a great guy and I'd do anything for him really."