Jamie’s school nosh

9:44am Wednesday 28th April 2004

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CELEBRITY chef Jamie Oliver is heading back to the classroom for a new TV show about school dinners.

Filming was due to start this week in Kidbrooke School, Corelli Road, Blackheath, for the four-part series which follows on from the success of Jamie's Kitchen.

The chef will try to turn children away from junk foods such as pizza and chips in favour of more nutritious alternatives such as couscous and porcini while cooking on a budget.

He will then offer suggestions on improving dinners for schools around the country.

He said: "I have heard loads of kids and parents saying how worried they are about the lack of good, nutritious and tasty food so I am going to tackle it head-on.

"For some kids, it's their only proper meal of the day so it's crucial school lunch provides them with something which is not just a load of old rubbish."

Kidbrooke School chef Nora Sands, 48, who has been working at the school for nine years, cannot wait to meet the star.

She said: "I'm not too nervous about working with Jamie.

"There are more than 1,200 hungry children who need to be fed every day in Kidbrooke School so I think Jamie might find that he has more reason to get nervous than me.

"However, I'm looking forward to it as I think we both have a lot to learn from each other.

"I'm sure I can get good tips on how to make dishes more appealing to youngsters but he will hear from me about how to cook good meals on a limited budget.

"In general, children do tend to prefer less healthy food such as chips and pizza though the school does promote healthier eating with the pupils.

"Of course, in an ideal world, the children would choose more fresh fruit and salad but change isn't going to happen overnight.

"I think Jamie's image will go down well with the children and will hopefully help to change their tastes and habits."

Jamie's School Dinners, which will be shot at the school for the next six weeks, will be shown on Channel 4.

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