education, arts, science, music and more,” British Council senior policy analyst Alasdair Donaldson said in a statement. “But despite this, Orwell mounts a sturdy defense of our cooking – and food is one of the best ways in which different world cultures can exchange traditions and knowledge to learn from and appreciate each other.”

“Orwell was one of the finest minds on politics and the English language - but opinions are divided on his orange marmalade,” he added.

The Orwell Foundation, which offers yearly literary prizes in memory of the writer, was not impressed.

"The British Council rejected Orwell’s essay? What was new?” Jean Seaton, director of The Orwell Foundation, told ABC News. “The British Council were also censoring Orwell politically - he made British food sound so ghastly. At leastthe British Council paid him 30 guineas even if they did not publish it!"

Orwell's reputation has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years. In 2017 his most famous work, the dystopian classic "1984," shot to the top of the Amazon best-seller list after White House counselor Kellyanne Conway used the phrase “alternative facts,” according to The New York Times. Orwell coined the words "doublethink" in 1984 - meaning the way someone can hold two contradictory views at the same time.

The full essay, along with Orwell’s recipe for marmalade, has been published on the British Council website.