£150m boost for cookery lessons

Schools Secretary Ed Balls said the funding would pave the way for compulsory cooking lessons for pupils aged 11 to 14, which are due to be introduced for the first time from 2011.

Announcing the new package, he urged parents to get their children, especially boys, into the kitchen at home, in a bid to fight obesity.

He said: "Schools are only part of the solution - at the end of the day parents bring up children, not teachers. It will be great if young people had the chance to make healthy dishes from basic ingredients at home, not simply in the classroom."

Mr Balls said everyone should be able to prepare basic nutritious meals from scratch instead of taking pride in being unable to cook properly.

Ministers originally announced plans for mandatory practical lessons in January as part of the Government's obesity strategy. The ring-fenced funding includes £150 million to build new food technology teaching areas in schools that do not already have facilities and £750,000 to recruit and train 800 new specialist teachers.

The Government has also produced a new free cookbook for 11-year-olds including healthy versions of favourites such as spaghetti bolognese, risotto, roast chicken and apple crumble. The 32 recipes were chosen from ideas put forward by the public.

Mr Balls said: "We've lost touch with making basic dishes from scratch, even though there has never been a wider range of food in our shops. Celebrity chef cookbooks are best-sellers but for too many people cooking is now something they watch on television instead of doing themselves.

"Cooking is not quantum physics - once you've mastered basic dishes and techniques it is a straightforward skill which you can build on for the rest of your life.

"Proper cooking, budgeting and plans means that you can prepare healthy nutritious meals cheaply even in the face of rising food prices. It puts you in charge of your own health so that you can avoid salt, sugar and fat unlike with ready meals."