The Jamie Oliver effect has long been credited with improving school dinners, and now parents, pupils, and teachers are to be asked for their thoughts.

For the first time in the city they are being asked how school food could be improved via an online survey.

Letters have been sent to head teachers urging them to take part when they return to school.

The news comes as councillors on the city council's children and young people's scrutiny committee await a report on the current school meals service.

Lynn Senior, vice-chairman of the committee, said: "The review will be wide-ranging, as we're interested in looking at a number of issues around this topic, including the uptake of school meals."

Drop-in sessions are also expected to take place in schools to gauge opinion as part of the consultation which ends in December.

City Catering is the council's in-house catering provider.

Only a handful of schools, including Ellesmere College, Millgate Special School, Babington Community Technology College and Madani High School, have chosen to opt out and provide their own food.

It is hoped an improvement in meals will ensure a continued rise in those choosing school dinners.

In the past two years the number of children eating school dinners has risen by 411 to 10,116 in the primary sector.

Secondary schools have seen an even bigger leap, with an extra 467 pupils in 2009-10, to 4,643, compared to 4,176 the previous year.

City Catering head Annie Vesty welcomed the review.

She said: "We want to work together on this to get it right for pupils.

"We revamp the menu on a regular basis but this could be more far reaching.

"We want to encourage children to try new food as well as healthier options.

"What better way to do that through consultation and by working with our partners on the healthy food team, the council and the primary care trust?

"Jamie Oliver highlighted the worst of the worst when it came to school meals and until improvements were made and children got used to the new menus there was a national dip in uptake.

"Now that's changing but there's more we can do."

A meal costs £1.65 in primary schools, but the cost of producing a meal is £2.

The council receives a Government subsidy of £445,487, but this has only been guaranteed until 2011.

Annie said: "We're part of the Local Authority Caterers' Association which is lobbying to retain extra funding.

"It's a great concern this may be lost and with it all the improvements that have been made."

To improve dinners at county schools three years ago, education bosses recruited county farmers to provide fresh, local produce to use in school meals, hoping traditional recipes would encourage more children to eat meals again.