Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver brings "Food Revolution" to US

British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is bringing his crusade against unhealthy fare across the Atlantic with the debut of his US reality television show "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.

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A pop icon of modern cooking, Oliver lands in Huntington, West Virginia - a town he has designated the unhealthiest town in America because of rampant obesity - promising to revolutionize how they eat.

Oliver preaches the gospel about the joys of fresh food lovingly prepared from scratch, in place of the cheap processed food that has contributed to America being one of the world's fattest nations.

The telegenic chef, 35, in his new TV program that debuts Friday for six episodes on ABC television, tries to help rid the town's inhabitants of their diet of hamburgers, hot dogs and pizza.

Oliver's claim to fame is having overhauled the lunch menus at schools across Britain.

He also enjoys food icon status, thanks to his books on the joys of simply-prepared food - a culinary style which earned him the nickname "The Naked Chef" on his BBC television cooking show.

Oliver plans to teach the community how to prepare healthy meals that "don't cost the earth," homing in during the first episode on an elementary school cafeteria.

He also spends time with an overweight but poorly nourished Huntington family, hoping to effect a culinary makeover.

"This food will kill your kids," he tells one mother, condemning the family's diet of fried and fatty junk food, as her eyes fill with tears.

His message, delivered in his broad Cockney accent, is that good food is a God-given right: every child has the right to fresh, nutritious school meals, and every family deserves honest, wholesome food.

Along the way, in time tested reality television tradition, Oliver confronts strong resistance from Huntington residents.

They are stuck in their ways and disinclined to change, but presumably will be made to see the light by the time the closing credits roll during the show's final episode.