Thanks guys, good to know I am doing it right
Since that one night, and I started working with him on every meal, he has not snapped or even growled at me once.

When he is eating, I just need to walk over with authority to his dish, barely need to say 'leave' and he will back off a step, sit and look at me, waiting for my 'ok'.
My 10 yr old sister can do it too, my 3yr old doesn't have the 'authority stance' to do it yet but I'm gettin there.

Dave will sit for my son and take a treat nice, he will also 'drop' a toy for him on command.

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The only advice i would add is watch him with treats and toys in general.

Oscar only had a problem with Pigs ears at first and i thought i had resolved it but he had some Dentastix this week and he was doing it with them and a stuffed kong so i have realised it could happen with anything he REALLY wants to hang onto.

I am not restricting these items just making sure there is 100% supervision if he has anything so i can teach the children to back off if he does growl while telling him NO firmly when he does.

Oh god, I can only give him pork strips in his pen, he Loves them! As soon as I open the tin I keep them in, he is sitting at my feet. Once I can get him to sit nice and not try and grab a pork strip I'l be there!

If Dixie or Dave growl my boy is really good, stands with one hand on his hip, the other, palm towards them and 'NO DAVE/DIXIE- BAD!!' Dixie was so shocked the 1st time he did that, the treat she had fell on the floor and Dave stole it!

Kitchen really is off limits to my boy, so it's easy to teach him to stay away.

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Sounds like you have it sorted out already

This is completely the opposite of what I would do, and in telling him off/taking things away, you are simply teaching him that someone around his food bowl is a threat. Food aggression is not like other forms of aggression - any dog can have food aggression, it doesn't mean they are generally aggressive, nor does it mean they are dominant or any other reason people give, and trying to assert authority over food may make him more 'obedient' around food when you're around... you can extend this to your children too, but it will not make him comfortable and relaxed with people around food.

I always start by adding food to the bowl as a young pup. Give half his meal and when he is nearly finished add more. Basically you are conditioning him that 'good' things happen around his food bowl - not bad, it's not something he has to be wary of or needs some sort of 'authority' to obey. What you are aiming for is a dog that is more than happy for you to approach his bowl because then good things happen. You can then get others to do it too. By touching him/taking things away/telling him off, you are teaching him unpleasant things happen. Many dogs never show any problems despite this, but why risk it when it is so easy to make a dog happy and relaxed with you being around it's food bowl?

I totaly agree

I always add food and the children (supervised) but i do move his bowl around and stroke him while he is eating, i don't take it away though.

What would you recommend when this applies to other items, eg chew toys etc.

At the moment i am just telling him NO really firmly if he even murmurs but i am leaving him with the item and making the children move away.

Any other suggestions.

Agree with Dundee on this
Another method when aggression has already happened, is to hand feed from the bowl for a while, until the dog has relaxed

That's fine, I do too. It's simply a case of starting off simply and as they get used to that and are happy, move on to more distraction. All training is repetition and gradually increasing difficulty without moving too fast.

With high value treats/chews/bones etc, I would initially start with exchanging the item I'm asking them to give up with another high value treat.

All this can be done without conflict and stress and is a much more positive experience for the dog. There is no doubt that dogs learn more quickly with positive experiences.

Must say he is bomb proof with his bowl now but he has started to display this behaviour with other "prized" possessions. Is it enough just to tell him NO in a stern voice or do i need to do more work with higher value treats as you mentioned (not altogether sure what would be higher value than a pigs ear for him though )

Sorry poison didn't mean to hijack