Banbury-trained superchef Gordon Ramsay beats Jamie Oliver to be 'Best TV Chef of All Time'

The multi-Michelin starred Scots born chef, who lived in Banbury as a youth and trained at the North Oxfordshire Technical College (now Banbury & Bicester College), is as famous for his foul mouthed on-screen temper tantrums as he is for his cooking. He came top with a resounding 41 per cent of the vote in a national survey.

Second on the list was chef turned food poverty and school meals campaigner Jamie Oliver (31 per cent), who first graced our screens in 1999 as the BBC’s The Naked Chef.

The two chefs have had a famously tumultuous relationship with Oliver criticising Ramsay over insulting comments he made about Australian TV personality Tracy Grimshaw.

Ramsay hit back calling Oliver a 'one pot wonder' while the Essex-born chef suggested that Gordon’s wife Tania - who released a cookbook - was better in the kitchen than her husband.

The study, by insights agency Perspectus Global, also found that national treasure and Bake Off Queen Mary Berry came third in the list of the best TV chefs, with a quarter of the vote.

Currently starring in BBC 2’s new series Love to Cook, Berry’s first TV appearance was in the show Afternoon Plus, which came out in the early 1970s.

Since then, Berry has been a regular screen presence, was a judge on The Great British Bake Off from 2009 to 2016, and last month was appointed Dame Commander for services to culinary arts, charity and broadcasting.

Also on the list were culinary heavyweights Deliah Smith (24 per cent), Nigella Lawson (23 per cent), Rick Stein (20 per cent) and the late great Keith Floyd (19 per cent).

The study revealed that the average Brit watches up to five hours of cookery programmes every week, and that 71 per cent will now search for a cookery clip online, rather than reaching for a recipe book.

Said Evie Porter of Perspectus Global: “As the festive season approaches and the nation’s thoughts turn to food, we wanted to find out who the best loved TV chefs were, and it’s interesting to see that Gordan Ramsay, who has divided viewers with his sometimes foul-mouthed antics, has come out number one.

"What’s also fascinating is to see just how many of us now turn to video content when wanting to find a recipe, rather than looking in a book.”

Also on the list of our most-loved culinary TV stars were James Martin (17 per cent), Ainsley Harriott (14 per cent), and the Grandmother of TV cookery shows, Fanny Craddock (14 per cent).

TOP TWENTY GREATEST TV CHEFS OF ALL TIME, ACCORDING TO BRITS

Gordon Ramsay - 41%; Jamie Oliver - 31%; Mary Berry - 25%; Delia Smith - 24% Nigella Lawson - 23%; Rick Stein - 20%; Keith Floyd - 19%; James Martin - 17%; Raymond Blanc - 16%; Marco Pierre White - 15%; Fanny Craddock - 14%; Ainsley Harriott - 14%; Michel Roux Jr - 14%; Heston Blumenthal - 13%; Paul Hollywood - 10%; Nadiya Hussain - 8%; Anthony Warral Thompson - 6%; Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - 6%; Madhur Jaffrey - 5% and Clarissa Dickson Wright - 4%.

The Banbury Guardian featured Jack Ramsay, son of chef Gordon, when he was brought back to live on Bretch Hill - where his father was brought up - to spend a week incognito. You can see the report here. And in a film of Gordon returning to Banbury with his son, the chef recounted how he was told he would 'never get a distinction' - see here in the Banbury Guardian report.