We cracked two eggs in a bowl. Then we put in the butternut squash, the flour, sugar and cinnamon and mixed it together,” says Umar.

The 12-year-old is thinking on his feet, quickly recalling the ingredients, the preparation and the entire process he and his schoolpals have just put into practice to create the wonderful aroma pervading the air.

Baking powder, the essential ingredient to make their butternut squash muffins rise, momentarily forgotten when reciting the method of their making, is swiftly remembered as the group gather around the polished wood surfaces they’ve just cleaned down – another example of the teamwork being demonstrated here.

Their wait is eager, their suspense enticed by the wonderful aroma seeping from the bank of ovens in Bradford’s Ministry of Food, bordering the Oastler Centre in John Street.

School groups, such as the seven young people I’m meeting today, attend as part of their ten-week course, a fun, food-focused educational experience.

Since its launch three years ago, bookings at the Ministry of Food in Bradford have been buoyant, no doubt spurred on by the importance of stemming rising obesity problems and getting Britons, the younger generation in particular, to start eating healthily.

Project manager Soraya Overend says around three schools a week participate in the courses.

She and her team of volunteers are providing 17 classes a month, to schools, organisations and the general public who want to learn how to cook or brush up on their culinary skills.

In National Obesity Week it’s refreshing to see this group, ranging from 11 to 14, taking a genuine interest in cooking meals from scratch.

Some already help out at home, but according to Deborah Fletcher, inclusion manager at Grange Technology College, who accompanied the young people along with her colleague Lindsay Backhouse, the course gives them the opportunity to cook different things and learn how to find fresh ingredients.

“It’s that awareness,” says Deborah, saying this is the college’s fourth group to come on the course.

For 11-year-old Slovakian student Viktoria, who helps her mum make their native cakes, the course gave her the opportunity to try something new.

Deborah cannot praise it enough. “It’s giving them a taste of something else and it is healthy.

“Some of them have tried things at home as well and they make a lot of easy things which is what I like. It’s nothing you cannot make.”

Soraya says the young participants are taught a repertoire of ten meals, starting simple with egg dishes. A delicious pancake packed with their five-a-day ingredients such as fresh strawberries, pineapples, blueberries, bananas and yoghurt was their first task.

Over the following weeks they were taught how to make soup, a chicken tikka masala, pizza and – the grand finale – a roast dinner.

With so many action plans and initiatives geared to tackle childhood obesity, Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food appears to be delivering results.

“Anything that is going to encourage children to cook and eat healthily has to be a really positive thing,” says Lindsay.

According to statistics, nearly one in three children in the UK is obese, which can lead to health issues such as diabetes and heart disease.

“The Government spends billions on treating people with obesity problems, but surely places like this and schools teach them life skills and it makes much more sense,” says Soraya.

She is referring to the importance of early intervention and education through schemes such as the recent Money Week celebration, where pupils from Beckfoot in Bingley, Immanuel College, Belle Vue Girls and primaries Lidget Green, Worth Valley, Thorpe and Marshfield learned how to make healthy meals on a budget at Jamie’s Ministry of Food.

Exercise is another essential ingredient to keeping healthy, and tomorrow families in Bradford and Airedale are being encouraged to get active through a fun activity session focused on internationally-themed games and sports to celebrate MEND Move it Week.

MEND Move It Week also coincides with National Obesity Week and aims to encourage families to spend more time being active together.

Children aged seven to 13 may have the opportunity to join MEND’s free ten-week healthy lifestyle club for children who are above a healthy weight.

They will learn about healthy eating, how to increase their fitness levels and reduce their body-mass index.

* To find out more about the MEND Move it Week session, call (01274) 202801, or to learn more about Jamie’s Minstry of Food in Bradford, contact (01274) 435279.