Jamie Oliver's latest book 30-Minute Meals may have broken sales records, but has plenty of critics who claim that they cannot finish preparing the dishes in the allotted time.

The release of the Naked Chef's latest book was accompanied by a new Channel 4 show, which enabled Jamie to demonstrate just how easy it is to knock-out his creations in half an hour.

But even armed with the best cookware, frying pan and chefs knife, few home cooks possess Jamie's gifted expertise in the kitchen, with some struggling to turn out a dish in less than double the time it takes the celebrity chef.

Speaking to the Evening Standard, general manager of the West End cooking school L'atelier des Chefs, Marie Clarke, explained that her company has prepared some recipes that definitely are capable of being made in less than 30 minutes.

She told the newspaper: "It's slightly unrealistic for people to cook two-three courses in an evening when they get home from work, but the half-hour recipes for a main course you can definitely do in half an hour.

"A lot of people buy lots of cookbooks but don't use them. We are about giving people confidence to get them cooking again."

Jamie's 30 Minute meals series airs on Channel 4 every weekday and is scheduled to run until February 11th.