MasterChef judge Gregg Wallace has blasted fellow BBC star Mary Berry, saying the Bake Off legend's opposition to the deep-fat fryer is "an attack on our British way of life".
Berry told Good Housekeeping magazine this week that she does not think any home should contain the cooking appliance, and also spoke out against fizzy drinks for children.
In response, Wallace wrote in the Sun on Saturday that while "we probably did use the fryer a little bit too much" when he was young, fatty food is okay in moderation, adding: "Our nation was built on chips and spam fritters."
He said: "Just thinking about it takes me back to happy times when what we call dinner now was known as 'tea' and we ate it around five o'clock. Dinner was what you had at school at midday.
"The smell of deep-fat frying was universal back then, wasn't it? It brought families and friends together.
"To suggest getting rid of it isn't just an assault on the deep-fat fryer but on the traditional British psyche.
"I love Mary dearly but this is an attack on our British way of life. We fry things, that's what we do. It's like banning the wok in China or outlawing the pizza oven in Italy. It's ludicrous."
Berry is back on screen with fellow judge Paul Hollywood in the new series of Bake Off as another group of flour-dusted hopefuls see whether they can stand the heat of the kitchen.
The 81-year-old told Good Housekeeping about her desire to make children more healthy. She said: "Many people think children must have chips. I don't think any household should have a deep-fat fryer.
"I never fry a doughnut. If you want a doughnut, go and buy one once in a blue moon. It's about everything in moderation."