Celebrity chef Gennaro Contaldo has helped a Suffolk school be part of a world record attempt.

The chef, famous for his role as fellow foodie Jamie Oliver’s mentor, was at Orford CEVAP School today to break the world record for the most people cooking the same dish in 24 hours.

The event was part of Food Revolution Day, which aims to get children excited about eating healthily.

The dish was a rainbow salad wrap, which included ingredients such as cabbage, carrot, beetroot and feta cheese.

Speaking at the event Gennaro said: “I feel reborn. I feel like I’ve become a little child.

“This is what it’s about. I feel like an 11 year old again. They are the future. Education is so important, and so is eating healthily.

“It’s about eating well. Better food means better health and a better life. You will get better people and a better world.

“If you cook at home it’s cheap. You buy a pizza, it’s £10. I could make ten pizzas for £10.

“For the past three years this has been about healthy food throughout the world. To give is better than to recieve. I think I should pay these children because I have learnt so much from them.”

Suffolk Coastal MP Therese Coffey said the event was “fantastic”, and that it was impressive that the children on the scheme were open to most foods.

Kate Kilburn, cookery teacher at the school, said: “It’s inspiring and exciting to see. I believe it’s good for their life to eat well and to know why it’s important to eat well.”

According to Louise Holland, Jamie’s deputy, Suffolk is well placed to encourage young people to eat well.

“The food producers in Suffolk are far superior than anywhere else in the country,” she said. “The farming is good too. Suffolk is in a wonderful area.”

She said that events like food festivals, all of which have taken place in Suffolk for some time, have led to the county being one of the more enthusiastic places when it comes to tackling obesity and making healthy eating a priority.

She added: “I have worked in all different places in the country and got to know the areas pretty well. My personal view is that Suffolk has more potential than anyone else.

“We also work in America and the foundation for promoting healthy eating and tackling obesity is leaps and bounds ahead of there.

“There are only one or two other places like Orford in the rest of the country. The institution of a school is fantastic. The institution of the workplace is also important. If we could get the supermarkets onside and educate consumers that would be great. That’s what the producer wants. The consumer wants to be given the right information.

“The producer is already doing a good job. Generally speaking the supermarkets should be doing a lot lot more.”

Joanna Spicer, chair of Suffolk’s health and wellbeing board, said: “It’s delightful to see Suffolk leading the way in promoting healthier meals for young people and I congratulate the work of Orford Primary.

“I very much welcome this activity, especially for the fact that it’s educating pupils from an early age about how important cooking with healthier ingredients is, and how enjoyable these meals can be.”