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Jamie Oliver inspires schoolchildren to cook

Shivani Chaudhari
BBC News, Cambridgeshire
Shaun Whitmore/BBC A pre-teen with her hair in a plait and wearing an apron over her school uniform. She is smiling as she sprays oil over a cooking tray. She is in a school kitchen and her friend, also wearing an apron, is in the background smiling.Shaun Whitmore/BBC
According to a YouGov poll in 2022, only 3% of 18 to 24-year-olds said they were "very good" at cooking

A school hoping to get children inspired to cook from scratch has featured with Jamie Oliver in a documentary series.

Year 8 pupils from Comberton Village College near Cambridge got to meet the chef as he shared some of his cooking tips and tricks with them for an episode of Chef's Table.

Natalie, 12, said the celebrity's visit "was really really inspiring and I really loved cooking".

Oliver rose to fame in the late 1990s with the premier of BBC Two series The Naked Chef and has spent much of his career trying to improve school lunch nutrition.

Shaun Whitmore/BBC A teacher talking to the class in a school kitchen. They are all listening to her standing up or leaning on counters as she speaks. They are all wearing black aprons.Shaun Whitmore/BBC
Emily Goodson is a teacher at the school and she says she wants to inspire children to cook more and enjoy eating well

Emily Goodson, head of food and nutrition at the school, said she often used Oliver's cooking recipes in her class.

"I've tried to give children the broadest experience when it comes to food knowing that by the time they hit 13 or 14 they might never cook again."

In a YouGov survey in 2022, only 3% out of 230 18 to 24-year-olds said they were "very good" at cooking.

Ms Goodson said it was really important to equip young people with the skills to feed themselves.

"Jamie seems to have the same agenda - he wants kids to cook from scratch."

Shaun Whitmore/BBC A close up image of a burger. It appears to have crispy chicken and lettuce leaves wedged between two buns.Shaun Whitmore/BBC

Chef's Table made its debut in 2015. The Netflix series features famous chefs from around the world, including Oliver in the latest season.

Ms Goodson said the experience was like having a "rock star in".

Stanley, 13, was in the class when Oliver visited and said: "He was very nice and quite down to earth."

Gaia, also 13, said: "It was really exciting and really special because we were the only class doing it.

"I go home and do his recipes and that makes me happy."

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