Jamie Oliver may have spent time in the kitchen at one North-East school, but plans were afoot for a food revolution before the celebrity chef arrived. Marjorie McIntyre reports

Television chef Jamie Oliver is offering to help a North-East headteacher serve up healthier school meals to her pupils.

For Yvonne Ryle - whose school in Peterlee, County Durham, is featured this week in Jamie's School Dinners - has decided to organise her own school meals in future.

Long before the flamboyant chef and his camera crew arrived at Eden Community Primary School, Mrs Ryle had decided the lunchtime fare could be improved.

So, when caterering company Scolarest's contract is up for renewal later this year, she will opt out and organise her own school dinners.

And Jamie has offered the enterprising headteacher a helping culinary hand when the time comes.

"I agree with Jamie that we could do better and I am now looking for a new cook to come in and prepare fresh, healthy and inviting meals for my pupils,'' she said.

Jamie gives the meals a roasting in the second installment of Jamie's School Dinners, which examines the state of school dinners.

Far from being upset by his criticism, Mrs Ryle says she will follow some of his advice when she organises her own catering.

Of her 415 pupils, 230 have school dinners and she is determined they will all have something to look forward to.

"Seventy per cent of my pupils have free school meals and for many of them it is probably the only hot meal of the day and I want to ensure it is a good one," she said.

Her recipe for success is a simple one: "The food will be unprocessed and fresh, chemical free, with no additives, no preservatives and will be cooked from scratch."

Off the menu will be processed meats, fat-filled sausages and burgers - and in will come "proper home-cooked dishes".

Gone also will be the plastic plates and cutlery, and back on the table will be crockery and metal knives and forks.

As she embarks on her back to basics culinary curriculum, Mrs Ryle is entirely grateful for Jamie's advice and looks forward to his help in establishing healthy and enticing servings for her young gastranomes.

The move is being welcomed by the children, who have been impressed by the visit of Jamie.

Chelsea Fletcher, nine, said: "Jamie taught us to eat more healthily and I only eat sweets on Thursdays now.''

A spokeswoman at Scolarest said that Durham County Council had agreed a two-year contract extension with the company to provide healthier option menus to schools across the region.

"The council is investing extra money into the school meals programme from September to provide more fresh fruit and vegetables, a greater choice of home-cooked meals and a comprehensive reduction in levels of salt, sugar and fat content for the over four million school lunches served per year.''

She added: "The school that Jamie visited in Durham has decided not to be part of the group contract negotiated with the council. We do not know what arrangements they have now made for school meals provision."

She also pointed out: "All menus are analysed by Scolarest's nutritionist to ensure they are nutritionally balanced according to guidelines laid out by the DfES.''

* Jamie's School Dinners is on Channel Four at 9pm tonight.