He’s taken plenty of rough with rather less of the smooth since being born in Leeds in 1983, fleeing home – and the attentions of an abusive stepfather – aged just 13, thereafter sleeping in shop doorways till, still aged only 15, he landed a job working for legendary chef Marco Pierre White.

But now Jameson Stocks – anointed by White as Britain’s next culinary star – is learning that life is full of other hazards, among them letters threatening legal action.

Such, he tells me, has been his reward for denouncing Meghan Markle’s Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, as ‘forced and fake’ and ‘painful to watch’.

‘I got a lawyer’s letter from Netflix after I spoke out against her, warning me,’ says Stocks, whose life story so gripped Brad Pitt that he snapped up the rights to turn it into a movie.

Stocks had advised Meghan to steer clear of the kitchen and ‘go back to acting’, describing her as ‘quite a good actress’, and insisting that ‘people should stick to what they do best’.

He might as well have treated the Netflix bigwigs to a plateful of maggot-ridden meat.

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Jameson Stocks, pictured, is learning that life is full of other hazards, among them letters threatening legal action, writes Richard Eden

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Such, he tells me, has been his reward for denouncing Meghan Markle’s Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, as ‘forced and fake’ and ‘painful to watch’, writes Richard Eden

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‘I got a lawyer’s letter from Netflix after I spoke out against her, warning me,’ says Stocks, whose life story so gripped Brad Pitt that he snapped up the rights to turn it into a movie

‘I proper pissed them off. Netflix did not like it and came after me,’ adds Stocks, characterising the legal letter as ‘a load of nonsense’.

If intended to silence him, the missive has abjectly failed.

‘I am not taking any notice,’ Stocks assures me.

‘How can she get all this money from Netflix? I don’t think she can cook and I don’t think she should be teaching people to cook either.

‘What would I cook for her? I would cook something she has done on her TV programme but cook it properly.’

That, alas, seems unlikely, especially now that Stocks has given me his assessment of Meghan’s lifestyle brand, As Ever. He says: ‘Her jam sold out in minutes. I think they probably only had about ten of each product.’

Stocks, who acknowledges that he doesn’t make his own, adds: ‘I know Lidl do jam for about £15 cheaper.’

A Netflix spokesman declined requests for comment.