"IS it some kind of salami?"

Judging by the baffled looks on the faces of Ruskin Junior School pupils, the haggis seemed certain to be the most confusing foodstuff on the table.

But during the quiz in Upper Stratton on Thursday , held to mark British Food Fortnight, the Eccles cake made a late charge and proved to be the most difficult British food to identify.

Research from the Year Of Food And Farming was published this week showing that young people in Britain are unaware of where most foods come from.

The Advertiser, helped by part-time French chef Eric Flambé - aka Advertiser reporter Matt Jackson - laid out Cornish pasties, leeks and cheddar cheese to test the pupils' knowledge.

Max Whitby, 10, from Upper Stratton, said: "It's really hard to know where they come from, I thought it would be easy."

When the food was unveiled the pupils immediately started offering guesses about the type of food.

For the most part it was all correct - the pasty, the pie and of course the block of cheese.

But when it came to identifying a country, let alone a region of Britain, it became much less clear.

Elizabeth Walecki, nine, from Upper Stratton, was a strong participant.

She said: "I knew most of them, but it was a guess that the leek came from Wales.

"I have never seen a haggis before, and I don't like the taste of the Eccles cake."

Elizabeth has family in Poland, and the children often suggested countries outside of Britain rather than a local place.

The idea that cheddar came from nearby Somerset was a revelation.

James Sims, 10, said: "I've never really thought about where most foods come from, as long as you know what it is, it doesn't really matter."

Meghan Painter, 10, also from Upper Stratton, said: "I have never seen a haggis before, and I was sure the Eccles cakes were scones.

"I have learned a lot from this, though, and I want to find out where more foods come from."

The research results showed that 54 per cent of young people do not know that Cornish pasties come from Cornwall, and a massive 85 per cent don't know that Cheddar comes from Somerset.

As the children tucked into the quiz items as reward for their participation headteacher Creighton Muirhead said he wasn't too surprised by the results.

He said: "I'm really not shocked by that, everyone knows about pasties but I'm sure that not many of them would think of Cornwall," he said.

"We haven't perhaps focused as much on cooking because of the limitations of our facilities and the pressures of the mainstream curriculum."

But Mr Muirhead revealed that the school had plans to enhance cooking facilities there.

"We have ordered two ovens that will come on stream and should allow us to cook more," he said.

"We have done lots of catering for special needs groups and it would be fantastic to extend that to the whole school."