CHILDREN should be taught to cook at school.

That's according to celebrity chef James Martin who visited the Isle of Man as part of the Isle of Man Food and Drink Festival today (Sunday).

He believes that unless children are taught to cook when at school they will turn to convenience and junk food.

Speaking to isleofman.com James said: "Food has become a big thing now and rightly so. It always was but we kind of ignored it in the 70s and 80s and now it's coming back.

"I think most chefs will tell you that they learnt their career and their career path from their parents or grandparents and that's how I learnt.

"If you don't cook as a parent or certainly as a young adult you're not going to pass that on to the next generation and there will be that generation gap. We've had that because cookery is not taught in schools.

"I think it is vitally important - but you can't lecture people on one hand about obesity and tell them to stop eating McDonalds when you actually don't give them any opportunity to learn how to cook when they are a kid – so what do you think they are going to do?

"To me it is common sense you either teach them how to cook or you don't and they'll eat packet food and then you'll have the six billion pounds a year we spend fighting obesity.

"I'm not saying there is a direct correlation between cooking and schools but all these things add up to where we are now."

James Martin headlined the second day of the Isle of Man Food and Drink Festival today (Sunday). As well as conducting two live cookery demonstrations he also held a book signing offering festival goers the chance to get their copy of his new cook book signed.

Photos by John Gregory