James Martin’s Saturday Morning: ITV chef criticised for letting children ‘burn their mouths’ on his show

James Martin has been criticised for letting young children “burn their mouths” with hot food on his ITV cooking show.

The television chef, 50, encouraged children to eat more vegetables during a segment on James Martin’s Saturday Morning show.

He then invited his young guests to taste a selection of vegetarian meals inspired by ITV’s Eat Them to Defeat Them campaign.

However, viewers were concerned the children, who could be seen blowing on the food before trying it, were “burning their mouths”.

Many rushed to Twitter to complain that the dishes, which he served from a hot pan in his own kitchen, were too hot.

One ITV viewer tweeted: "Watching #jamesmartin those kids how the didn’t burn their mouths. Looks so hot."

Another added: "These kids awkwardly trying to eat the red hot vegetables without complaining."

A third fan wrote: "Serving the bairns actual fire directly from the pan all whilst mugging them off has made my Saturday morning. Even odds them kids are off to A&E within the next half hour."

Whilst a fourth shared: "Perhaps let it cool down first, poor kids look like they are burning their mouths!!"

Speaking on The Travel Diaries podcast, James said that he preferred to record the Saturday Morning show from home rather than rubbing shoulders with celebrities.

He also opened up about his childhood, adding: "We weren’t a well-off family, we had nothing. We were properly grounded farmers, all hard grafters of work. That’s kind of where I learned that ethos.

"You appreciate nice things in terms of food and you appreciate how much work goes into the food on your table."