Jamie Oliver causes microwave controversy on One Pound Wonders show

Jamie Oliver had viewers questioning his use of the microwave to cook chilli con carne on his new show Jamie's One Pound Wonders.

The celebrity chef - who is father to five kids with his wife Jools - has responded to the current cost of living crisis with the new Channel 4 cooking series, which claims to offer family meal ideas at just £1 per portion

Oliver, 47, cooked a beef chilli con carne in the microwave for 30 minutes, served with rice microwaved for 10 minutes.

Read more: Nigella Lawson's pronunciation of 'microwave' leaves viewers bemused

Viewers were quick to point out that the energy cost of using the microwave for 40 minutes would push up the cost of making the meal.

One posted: "Jamie Oliver is now telling people to put mince in the microwave for 30 minutes to cook a chilii con carne... then rice for another 10 minutes. Running a microwave for 40 minutes takes longer and costs more than using the hob."

Another said: "40 minutes in the microwave has probably cost a quid."

And another pointed out: "It might be £1 a portion, but you'll have spent ten times that on cooking it all!"

Watch: Jamie Oliver reveals his favourite kitchen utensil

While others were simply turned off by how Oliver - whose restaurant chain collapsed in 2019 causing around 1,000 job losses - used the microwave without covering the dish inside.

One tweeted: "Gotta clean that microwave now @jamieoliver."

Another said: "Bags me *not* being the person who has to clean Jamie Olivers microwave after he browned mince, made chilli and popped kidney beans in it...all without covering the dishes."

A third commented: "Huh? @JamieOliv.er doesn't put a lid on containers of ingredients, including mince, he puts in microwave."

Some questioned the show's portion sizes, insisting their family would still be hungry after eating just one slice of the frying pan cheats pizza or cheesy pancake stack, resulting in a cost of more than £1 per person.

One said: "@jamieoliver firstly mate no one has got the time to make these meal’s & secondly that pancake ain’t feeding 4 people in our house let alone 8!!"

Another tweeted: "Its only 80p a portion...! But need to eat 10 portions to feel full."

And one scoffed: "Serves 8!! They'd get a sniff each i can just see my son and husbands face if i gave them 1/8 of that."

Other viewers took issue with the food costing in the show - which is sponsored by high-end supermarket Waitrose - claiming it was not possible to purchase the ingredients for the prices quoted in the programme.

One said: "I really like your recipes Jamie, but I'm struggling to understand how the average cost of 3 peppers for your Cajun Chicken Traybake was 57p. That's surely the average cost of 1 pepper rather than 3 isn't it? #JamiesOnePoundWonders What am I missing?"

Another said: "Absolutely hilarious... Watching this atm... making his chilli & rice, which he claims to cost only four quid. (£1 per person, for 4) What the absolute what? My calculations Jamie,with all your added ingredients together it cost more than that."

Read more: Celeb chef Jamie Oliver says restaurant collapse was ‘minor blip'

And several simply asked: "Where does Jamie do his shopping?"