Forget the tie, Jamie?

Using the right ingredients, as Jamie Oliver well knows, is the first step to success.

Whether the celebrity chef's mixture of tousled hair, open-necked shirt, designer stubble and chunky silver chain was to the Queen's taste is anyone's guess.

That, nevertheless, was how the Essex boy arrived at Buckingham Palace yesterday to collect his MBE.

'I like ties but I prefer not to wear one when I'm nervous,' he said, moments after the ceremony.

He said he checked with Palace officials before turning up. 'They said wear whatever you're comfortable in.'

Although there is no strict dress code for such occasions, most men wear top hat and tails or their Sundaybest suits.

Whether she approved of his casual style or not, the Queen beamed at the TV chef as she pinned the award on the lapel of his 'pukka' brown Paul Smith suit. However, fashion designer Alexander McQueen, who received a CBE, had a word of advice.

'I think Jamie should at least have worn a tie today,' he said. 'Whether ties are in or out, it just looks better.'

Mr McQueen, 34, from North London - who has designed for the Duchess of York and film stars including Kate Winslet and Minnie Driver - wore a kilt and tartan sash for the occasion.

With Jamie at the investiture were his wife Jools and parents Sally and Trevor.

He added: 'At 28, I think I'm probably the youngest person receiving an award today.

'I thought I was a bit too young to receive an honour. They said it was for services to the hospitality industry but I wonder whether my Fifteen-project had anything to do with it.'

Jamie has set up a charity to train 15 young people each year as chefs at his London restaurant, Fifteen.

'I wasn't going to do anything to celebrate but all my friends said I was boring so I'm having a party with an Elvis impersonator,' he said.

'He sang at my wedding and at (his daughter) Poppy's christening. He looks just like him and sounds just like him.'

Wine writer and broadcaster Jancis Robinson added to the culinary flavour at the Palace, collecting an OBE, while opera singer Simon Keenlyside received a CBE.

From north of the border, entertainer Sydney Devine collected an MBE.

'This is the best moment in my 49-year career,' said the 63-year- old Country and Western singer.