Renowned chef James Martin has been blasted over comments he made about a popular cooking trend.
Martin, known for shows such as Saturday Kitchen and James Martin's Saturday Morning, has waged war against a specific cooking appliance - and people have been left flabbergasted by his comments.
Martin recently appeared on Good Housekeeping UK's My Life in a Biscuit Tin, where he spoke about his feelings on the matter, explaining he's been left 'scarred for life' by the introduction of the appliance.
Get ready guys, because we are talking about the humble air fryer.
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"I won't touch them," he said.
"I'd blow them up. I don't understand why people have air fryers. I think if you go round to somebody's house and they're cooking you dinner on an air fryer, you need new friends.
"You have to question yourself as a human to get new friends.
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"... It's not a little oven... I haven't tasted a single thing that tastes nice out of it, it takes twice as long as conventional cooking, don't tell me that it doesn't.
"It's just a waste of time."
If Martin's comments weren't shocking enough, he then added: "You can't do chips in an air fryer, I'm sorry, you can't. You need a deep fat fryer. If you think you can, you need to make new friends."
And people were blown away by the chef's comments, with many left confused.
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One person wrote online: "Air fryer chips are THE BEST. And uses way less energy than heating a big oven. He’s talking nonsense."
While another said: "Why am I heating the whole oven for one slice of garlic bread? Tell me you’re out of touch."
A third agreed: "Not everyone is estimated to have a net worth of £2M… the air fryer has its place for busy households or single households when it’s quicker/cheaper than heating up a whole oven."
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A fourth said he was 'wrong' and claimed that 'food tastes just good if not better' in the air fryer, which is also a 'much cheaper option in the long run', while a fifth fumed: "If your the sort of 'friend' that gets invited to dinner then moans how the food is cooked then maybe your friends need new friends???"
Others, however, agreed with Martin, with some feeling that you can't beat an oven.
One wrote: "I agree with James and they take ages to clean properly!"
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While another said: "Haha I’m with @jamesmartinchef on this one! keep putting it on the ‘what not to buy us for Christmas’ list. I’ve stopped buying some food/cooking magazines because a lot of them started including recipes for them."
And a third added: "Everything cooked in an air fryer tastes of plastic and disappointment."
FOODbible has reached out to Martin for comment.
Lucy Devine