They spoke out after Oliver - spearheading a campaign to get the nation eating healthily - claimed people in Third World countries have a better diet than British takeaway customers.

He has spent the summer running a drop-in school in Rotherham town centre called The Ministry of Food, where people are given lessons on how to cook nutritious food, hoping they will pass on the recipes to friends and relatives to get even more people eating healthily.

But Oliver has angered local takeaway owners by questioning the quality of British fast food and claiming he has seen better in African shanty towns.

Kez Cooke, who runs Diners Delight cafe, said: "I can't believe some of the things he has been saying.

"I'm next door to the 'Ministry of Food' but I have never seen him in there - he only turns up when he brings the cameras. He gives away free food, takes my customers, and so it affects my business. I just hope they don't believe the nonsense he's been talking."

Linda Nelson, who runs The Farmhouse Cafe, said:"We thought it would be good for the town but now it seems to have backfired," she said.

- The Ministry of Food starts tonight at 9pm on Channel 4.

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