Athletes from Tees Active Sports Academy and their parents received a master class in healthy eating last month from local celebrity chef Mark Earnden.

The event was organised by the academy to give the youngsters a practical and interactive lesson on how to prepare and cook a nutritional and tasty dish.

Academy manager Allan McDermott said: “Mark makes the cooking experience fun and interesting. It is vitally important that the academy athletes have a good range of cooking skills.

“Mark has also introduced some ingredients that our athletes may not have experienced before and this is an ideal opportunity for them to sample them. The other great thing about these events is that it gives the athletes a chance to relax and share their experiences with athletes from different sports.”

Sports trust Tees Active operates the Billingham Forum, Splash, Thornaby Pavilion, Stockton Sports Centre, Thornaby Pool and Castlegate Quay Watersports Active Life Centres on behalf of Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. Details: www.teesactive.co.uk

Photograph: Chef Mark Earnden with academy athlete Heidi Kilty