CELEBRITY chef James Martin cooked up a treat for students in a bid to get them to shun takeaways.

The star of BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen took to the stage at Huddersfield University to cook a three-course dinner in the time it would take to order a takeaway.

And he certainly delivered.

Cheered on by hundreds of students he cooked a pasta starter, chicken curry and a cheesecake long before the takeaway curry arrived.

James said: "The most important things to people at the moment is cost as well as healthy eating.

"But what people don’t realise is in the time it takes to order a takeaway they could have cooked a three-course meal and that’s what I’m going to show them."

The chef, who has appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, said the quickest healthy meal was a bag of pasta with a few vegetables thrown into the mix.

He added: "If people know and can see how easy it is then they’ll take the advice on board.

"The enthusiasm is still there because the cooking shows are still being watched.

"I think people are more likely to listen to TV chefs because we’ve got a voice and if I can teach one person something today then I’ve done my job."

Phil Longworth, health policy officer at Kirklees Council, said: "We did some work looking at the issues of obesity, food and physical activity and one key group was students who put quite a lot of weight on while at university but getting it off is much harder.

"Today was about engaging with them and showing them that cooking at home can be cheaper, easier and healthier."

The event was part of Up For It, a campaign which has brought fun and good advice to students across Kirklees, showing them the benefits of healthy eating.