The Hell’s Kitchen and The F Word frontman also laid the blame at the door of consumers for buying organic products unquestioningly. He said many are more concerned with the label than with quality.

Speaking at a food conference organised by TV channel Channel 4, Ramsay said: “The problem with organic food is that it has become hip and trendy, overhyped, overpriced and inconsistent. Unfortunately there is now a snob factor attached to it.

“There is a huge amount of inconsistency, especially with meat, fish and vegetables.”

A spokeswoman for the Michelin star-winning chef later said he is keen to highlight the pitfalls when something becomes as trendy as the organic movement. “He is concerned about people jumping on the bandwagon and buying inferior and unseasonal products simply because they are labelled organic,” she said.

“Before buying organic, Gordon feels that people should take a step back and ask important questions such as, how far has the produce travelled before hitting the supermarket shelves? Is it in season? Is it fresh? Is the quality of the produce good?”

She added Ramsay uses “high-quality locally sourced organic ingredients” in many of his restaurants.