This Month

I really don’t know what I think about Delia’s How to Cheat at Cooking – so bear with me as I attempt to untangle my thoughts. For a cookery book to have created as much controversy is no mean achievement, but then this is Delia. So what is it all about and why on earth do we care?

Dealing with the last point first – don’t forget this is Delia we’re talking about. For anyone who learnt to cook under her guidance on TV and/or through her books, she is special, trusted and revered. So if you heard her on Radio 4’s Today programme saying she “didn’t do” organic, was just a mere cook as confused as anyone and unqualified to talk about the politics of food, you must have felt aghast and, and I don’t exaggerate here, betrayed. Was she being disingenuous? Could she really mean it? As far as the book is concerned, she was aiming to get people cooking who lacked the time or skills. And apparently, in spite of the endless TV cookery programmes (pace Jamie, Gordon, Nigella etc) it still wasn’t happening.

I’m not sure that is totally true but even if you ignore such a bald statement, you have to ask whether Cheat realises its stated aim. Looking at the recipes, you have to ask whether this is really cooking. It strikes me as far more like assembling – further de-skilling a process that does demand certain skills, no matter how Delia might protest otherwise. What then is the price of de-connecting with your food? First you have to buy ready-cooked crispy smoked bacon, tins of minced lamb or chunky chicken in white sauce (M&S) or Aunt Bessie’s Homestyle frozen mashed potato. But how do they compare in nutritional values and cost with fresh, unprocessed alternatives? The answers are left by Delia hanging in the air.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for cheating - and there are some good ideas here. I suspect however that popping out to three supermarkets just to get Delia’s Cheat ingredients for her Good old shepherd’s pie is not one of them - however time-poor or de-skilled you are. Actually I’m just not comfortable with the use of highly processed, dubiously sourced tins or packets and then to name the manufacturers………….but no I don’t believe she took a penny from any supermarket or manufacturer for this book – that’s too awful to contemplate. No wonder I feel betrayed. The only conclusion I can draw is that Delia has abandoned me and gone on to audiences new …….and it hurts.

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COOK FROM THE BOOK

Seafood Linguine
Oven-Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary & Garlic
Kaiserschmarrn