New healthy eating workshops are cooking up a treat for the county's children.

Wiltshire Council and NHS Wiltshire have joined forces to introduce new healthy eating and cooking workshops at children’s centres across the county.

The first series of workshops have been held at Warminster Happy Feet Children's Centre with more planned for other areas in the county. Local families were invited to attend and learn more about cooking and eating more healthily.

Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for public health and public protection, Keith Humphries, said: "In Wiltshire one in five children starting primary school are either overweight or obese.

"Children start learning about food at a very early age within their family, and the messages and skills they acquire during this time lay the foundations for the diet choices for the rest of their lives.

"If we can help families change the way they cook and the food they eat, we can also help them ensure their very young children are getting the best start in life."

Children’s centres have been chosen to host the workshops as they support families with children aged five and under. Research from the School Food Trust and the Food for Life Partnership has shown that cooking skills and an understanding of what constitutes a healthy diet are crucial to helping combat obesity.

Maggie Rae, corporate director of public health and public protection, said: "As well as showing families the health benefits of cooking healthy food, we also want these workshops to demonstrate just how much fun cooking can be.

"It’s a wonderful skill to share with our children who have great fun learning at the same time.

"Cooking fresh food does not have to be too time consuming or expensive and these workshops will demonstrate how eating healthily can be convenient, inexpensive and above all tasty."

The Anybody Can Cook workshops will be hosted by chef educator Catherine Maxwell.

The Oral Health Team, Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and officers from Wiltshire Council’s Public Protection team will also attend the sessions to highlight the importance of good dental practices, demonstrate how to source and grow good local food, demonstrate good hand washing technique, provide information on food labelling and health and safety in the kitchen.

Workshops are being planned in Calne, Chippenham, Melksham, Salisbury, Trowbridge and Westbury areas later this year and into 2013.

Places on the workshops are limited so families who attend the centres are being sent invitations.