by Jenni Horn

jhorn@thekmgroup.co.uk

Celebrity chef Jean-Christophe Novelli has been showing a Medway couple how to cook healthy meals.

Sacha and John Royle, of Kingfisher Drive, Chatham, teamed up with the Hell’s Kitchen star for a new Channel Five programme, Family Food Fight with Flora.

The show sees Jean-Christophe and fellow TV chef Matt Tebbutt go head-to-head to train two families to change their bad eating habits and make healthy meals.

The Royles appeared in the first episode on Tuesday . Sacha, 33, said she signed up to take part after finding out her daughter Delaney, aged 11, and husband John were fed up with her bad cooking.

She explained: “I used to cook casseroles, lasagne and spaghetti bolognese, but none of it was fresh. I wasn’t completely useless in the kitchen but I would use everything from packets and tins.”

Sacha was given a personal cookery lesson by Jean-Christophe, but first had to face him tasting her cooking.

She said: “It was absolutely awful because he was honest. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. But I took it on the chin.”

Sacha, joined by husband John, then had to put her new-found skills to the test by cooking healthy dishes for diners at a London restaurant. She said working with Jean-Christophe was fantastic.

She added: “I loved the whole experience. I’m really pleased we did it. I learnt that it is actually quite simple to make fresh food from scratch.

“I’m never going to be

the greatest cook in the world, but I feel more confident in the kitchen.

“I’m willing to try making things and I’ve got the cookery books out again. Delaney is really proud of us for doing it.”

Family Food Fight with Flora airs every Tuesday on Channel Five at 7.30pm.

uE06E The programme is part of Flora’s Heart Age campaign. To download healthy recipes visit www.floraheartage.com