TV chef Oliver returns to school

Oliver is trying to wean children off pizza and chips

TV chef Jamie Oliver hopes to transform school dinners in a new series aiming to get children to eat healthy food.

Jamie's School Dinners, which begins filming next week, will be shown on Channel 4.

The four-part series follows on from the success of Jamie's Kitchen. The series will be shot at Kidbrooke School in south-east London.

"I've been concerned about what kids eat in school for some time now," the TV chef said.

"I've devoted most of the rest of 2004 to actually doing something about school food."

Healthier alternatives

"I've heard loads of kids and parents saying how worried they are about the lack of good, nutritious and tasty food so I'm going to tackle it head on.

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

The chef said he will try to turn children away form foods such as pizza and chips in favour of healthier alternatives such as cous cous - while sticking to a budget.

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

Oliver's most recent success was with Jamie's Kitchen, which proved to be a ratings winner for Channel 4.

The project took 15 unemployed youngsters and aimed to turn them into professional chefs to staff a new London restaurant, 15.