MICHELIN-STARRED CHEF DOMINIC CHAPMAN CALLS FISH AND CHIPS 'OVERRATED'
Michelin-starred restaurant chief Dominic Chapman has provoked a British takeaway backlash by labelling fish and chips as 'overrated'.
Chapman, whose Oxfordshire restaurant's star dishes include rabbit lasagne, made a point of picking out chippies for criticism in a new interview.
Yet fish and chip shop owners have dismissed the jibe as 'complete nonsense' - while an industry boss told MailOnline the wider British public would be on their side.
Andrew Crook, president of the National Federation of Fish Friers, said fish and chip takeaway shops were 'engrained in our culture' and needed to be 'protected'.
The latest controversy comes amid soaring costs putting traditional chippies in jeopardy - with the number of takeaway stores down from a peak 35,000 in the 1930s to just 10,500 today.
Chapman singled them out for criticism when interviewed by the magazine Restaurant, who asked him to name 'the most overrated food'.
His simple response was: 'Fish and chips from a fish and chip shop.'
But Andrew Crook, president of the National Federation of Fish Friers and owner of the Skippers of Euxton restaurant in Chorley, Lancashire, has now hit back.
He told MailOnline today: 'Fish and chip shops have been going here for 160 years, so we must be doing something right.
'These are simple ingredients which work well together - fish, potatoes, flour and water, fried up. It's simple but people love it.
'It's a funny thing to have a go at. Fish and chips as a meal is engrained here - when Brits go abroad, it's fish and chips they welcome when coming back rather than a Michelin-starred restaurant.
'I'm sure this chef does fantastic food but people find fish and chips just so satisfying. It's part of our culture and something that needs to be protected.
'I compare our takeaways to bakeries in France - people would rather than to the boulangerie rather than get the equivalent from a supermarket.'
And Chris Kanizi, owner of the Golden Chippy in Greenwich, south London, told the Telegraph how Chapman's take was 'complete nonsense'.
Mr Kanizi, 65, said: 'I cook with fresh fish, traditional fresh fish, fresh potatoes, fresh oil, cooked with lots of tender, loving care.
'I think it's complete nonsense - I think if everyone cooked fish and chips like him, the whole tradition of fish and chips would die.'
Mr Kanizi's award-winning fish and chip shop hit the headlines last month when ordered to remove a Union flag mural by council officials over claims it was 'inappropriate for the area'.
Greenwich council said it had received a 'number of complaints' about the mural, which features the phrase 'A Great British Meal' - saying it was an 'unauthorised advert'.
Chapman did also in his Restaurant interview reveal his fondness for other fast food, telling of enjoying a 'dirty burger' and Greek kebab and wishing to have invented the McDonald's Big Mac.
A study has suggested eating an extra portion of cod each week could save the NHS £600million a year by preventing thousands of cancer and type 2 diabetes cases.
Businesses could also save up to £360million annually in reduced sick leave, the analysis conducted by the University of East Anglia last month found.
A lean source of protein, diets rich in seafood are recommended to help maintain a healthy weight, lower cholesterol and blood pressure.
NHS guidelines recommend people eat at least two portions of fish a week, including one of oily fish, such as salmon or tuna.
But current estimates suggest people in England are typically only eating half the recommended levels.
If increased to two, scientists estimate it could prevent up to 4,900 cases of type 2 diabetes and 18,000 cancer cases a year, including almost 9,000 bowel cancers.
People could reduce their chances of type 2 diabetes by 15 per cent and bowel cancer by up to 42 per cent, according to the health and economic modelling.
This year's latest Fish And Chip Shop Awards, revealed at a London ceremony in February, gave the top takeaway prize to Ship Deck, in Caerphilly, south Wales - run by partners Ryan and Kimberly Hughes.
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