Oxfordshire children once skipped home from school at lunchtimes to feast on it, but tripe is now the nation's most detested food, according to a survey.

A poll carried out by Olive magazine says the delicacy the lining of cows' stomachs, traditionally eaten with onions was listed as their most hated dish by almost 5,000 respondents.

But over at Millett's Farm in Frilford, tripe is still very much on the menu.

Butchery manager Mark Dennis said: "You can't get it in a lot of places any more, but we still sell loads of it about 15-20 kilos a week.

"The majority of the people who buy it are older. They tell me they cook it in milk and onions, but I have never tried it it looks horrible!

"One of the butchers here says he has had it, and it has the consistency of squid and is really quite tasteless."

Jellied eels, came second in the hit-list, followed by deep-fried Mars bars. But again, while jellied eels may be hard to come by, the delicacy has not died out completely in Oxford.

"Jellied eels may be number two on the hated list, but we have people who eat them for breakfast and even buy five-kilo tubs at a time," said Geraint Jones, shop manager at Haymans Fisheries in the Covered Market.

"We try to stock as many different types of fish and cooked seafood as we can, and demand for jellied eels at this time of year usually exceeds supply."

He added: "We get them mainly from London and the jelly comes out naturally from the eels during cooking.

"Some people love them, some people are just put off by seeing pieces of fish in jelly.

"Personally I would eat one if offered, but I don't usually buy them.

"The people that do, though, are all ages and from everywhere. We also get a lot of ex-pats coming back to Oxford, who pop in for a dish of them.

"One man even has them for breakfast at 6.30am in the morning!"

Over at the Oxford Fish Shop in Cowley Road, cod, plaice, sausages and chips are joined on the menu by deep fried Mars bars and Snickers.

Owner Kazem Hakimi rubbishes claims that deep fried Mars bars are the third most hated foods.

"I sell 50-60 a week, and it's not just to youngsters, it's to people of all ages," he said.

"I would say the majority of people who say they hate them in this survey haven't even tried them. If they had, they would probably change their minds."

Mr Hakimi has been serving the battered chocs for around three years, after bowing to pressure by customers.

Mr Hakimi added: "You can have a banana fritter, or a pineapple fritter, so why not chocolate too?

"There are two things that are good hot women and Mars bars!"

Perhaps the most surprising inclusion in the top 20 hated foods list at number 17 is Chicken Tikka Masala.

Surveys by the Curry Club maintain that the mild and creamy curry is the most ordered dish at curry houses, with 16 per cent of all diners eating it. And during the 2002 General Election, then Foreign Minister Robin Cook claimed it was the nation's favourite dish.