Prue Leith is toast of the night at Weston Park Burns Night celebration

Fresh from calling time on being a judge on the BBC's Great British Menu the school dinner champion and restaurateur says she believes efforts to remove fatty foods and fizzy drinks from many school canteens are paying off.

A long-standing champion of healthier meals for children, she backed fellow TV chef Jamie Oliver's campaign to push for government intervention to persuade headteachers to get on board.

She said more work needs to be done to help some parents develop their cooking skills and understanding of food.

Prue said: "Of all the things I've done the most important has been my work with the School Food Trust which was set up to stop people from selling junk food to children.

"The story goes that former Prime Minister Tony Blair stepped in after Jamie Oliver's appearance on a programme to raise awareness of this issue. Something had to be done about getting fizzy drinks, chocolate biscuits and turkey twizzlers off menus.

"What was important about that was the recognition that the law needed to be changed, which really helped us.

"Schools will probably say that they need the money to pay for the things they need."

The trust later evolved into the charity the Children's Food Trust.

Prue has been involved in the world of food and restaurants for decades. In 1969 she opened Leith's, her famous Michelin-starred restaurant. Then, in 1975, she founded Leith's School of Food and Wine which trains professional chefs and amateur cooks.

The popular event speaker made a guest appearance at the event on Saturday to celebrate the life and times of Scottish poet Robert Burns alongside her new husband, the Scottish designer John Playfair, who said a special grace. The couple tied the knot in Scotland three months ago.

Burns Night revellers tucked into haggis and smoked salmon. They were treated to an audience with Prue, who also took part in a question and answer session.

"This is a lovely part of the world. I wanted to visit the restaurants here to see how they are getting on. I thought the Granary was lovely place to go for lunch and I took the opportunity to give the team some helpful advice. These sort of events like Burns Night at places like Weston Park are marvellous things to put on," she added.

She added that now that she has sold her businesses and given up writing cook books she has plenty of time to focus on her writing – and is also promoting her new romantic novel The Prodigal Daughter, which available in hardback for £19.99, published by Quercus.