Jamie Oliver has been named the greatest celebrity chef of all time in a poll by 2,000 Bits. The 39-year-old who burst onto the scene with his first TV show The Naked Chef polled ahead of Delia Smith in second and Gordon Ramsay in third.

Jamie OliverJamie Oliver was named the greatest celebrity chef in a new poll

Oliver's recipes were also named the easiest to follow and his books are the most likely to be found on the nation's bookshelves. 

A spokesman for The Hundred-Foot Journey, the movie starring Helen Mirren, which commissioned the research to mark the Blu-ray and DVD release of the film said: "Jamie Oliver became popular soon after his first TV show debuted thanks to his boy-next-door personality and easy to follow recipes.

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"And despite a host of other celebrity chefs arriving on the scene over the last decade, Jamie is still at the top of his game and the nation's favourite.

"Thanks to people like Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay, cooking has seen a resurgence over the past few years with books from celebrity chefs constantly in the top books list.

"They have made cooking something which people now enjoy, rather than something which is a means to an end each evening.

"Many are even putting the increase in the number of men cooking down to the popularity of celebrity chefs.

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Keith Floyd and Heston Blumenthal also made the list of the greatest celebrity chefs, while James Martin and Raymond Blanc rounded out the top ten. 

In a separate poll, it emerged that seven out of ten mums would like to have a meal cooked for them by Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay or James Martin.