A Michelin-starred chef in Italy has triggered a storm of protest from pizza purists loyal to the original Neapolitan dish for daring to produce a "healthy" version of the humble margherita to which he has audaciously added wholemeal grains and cereals.

The bearded Carlo Cracco put his alternative "crunchy" recipe, featuring petal shapes of mozzarella and a heavy tomato sauce, on the menu of his restaurant in the smart Victor Emanuel Gallery in the Italian business capital of Milan, charging as much as €16 (£12,50).

But his delicate tweaks of the original recipe was met with disdain in the proud southern city of Naples, the birthplace of the margherita.

The Neapolitan writer Angelo Forgione spearheaded the criticism, quipping that the new gastronomic creation was nothing more than “a cracked pizza”.

Another purist noted that Cracco, a former judge in the Italian Masterchef, recently lost a Michelin star at one of his restaurants. "After making his own 'pizza,' they took away not only his other Michelin stars but also his Italian citizenship and his driving licence," the commentator said, adding that migrant Egyptians who often work as pizza bakers in Italy could do better. "When I saw Cracco's pizza I immediately awarded the Egyptian cook downstairs eight Michelin stars," he said.