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In Praise of Delia
In the late Sixties and early Seventies London was a mecca for young Australians. So much so that one part of it, Earls Court, came to be known as 'Kangaroo Valley' It was there, in 1973, that I came across a small cookbook called 'How to Cheat at Cooking' by one Delia Smith. She was, at the time, a food writer for the Evening Standard newspaper. Apart from that, no-one had really heard of her. The book intrigued me because it was not only so quintessentially English, it made no bones about using convenience foods and 'jazzing' them up a little. Bear in mind, I was fresh out of France and full of 'this is the only way to cook' arrogance at the time. Nevertheless I tried a few of Delia's suggestions and was so impressed that I ended up giving copies of the book to any number of friends. In that way I hoped to bring to an end the dreary round of grilled grapefruit halves (with glace cherry centred) followed by spaghetti Bolognaise sweetened with tomato ketchup that was the generally accepted norm in terms of dinner party entertainment. I kid you not! Delia, of course, continued to go from strength to strength and became the housewives' cook of choice. So much so that on one notable occasion Delia (by now a formidable TV presence) gave a recipe for a dish that involved cranberries. Within 24 hours there was not a cranberry to be had, fresh, dried or frozen, in any store anywhere in the United Kingdom. How could this happen? Was it because of the kind of glamour that has attached itself to Nigella? Hardly. I met Delia once. I got the impression that beneath those sensible clothes there was some verrry sensible underwear. Nor was it because of an attractive lisp, charming freckles and a pleasant manner. It was because Delia's recipes always worked. Ask anyone who's tried them. She tests everything, and if it doesn't work, it doesn't get published. I've used many of her ideas over the years for English-style meals and I have never had a failure. Not once. Which puts her right at the top of my cookery writer's list, and not just mine but that of thousands of domestic cooks all over the UK. Funnily enough, the wheel has just come full circle. She has just released a new cookbook and it's called, I can hardly believe it - 'How to Cheat at Cooking'! I'll bet she uses a different photograph this time :) |
Delia Smith, 1971
PLEASE VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S WEBSITE
The Cool Cook
Taking the heat out of the kitchen
www.all-about-cooking.com
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