Delia says cheating is ok.

scotsaver

I have been a Delia fan since the 80's, have all of her books so tuned in last week expecting something great and couldn't believe my eyes - how much must all those ingredients cost:eek: Watched again last night and it's even worse, I was shouting at the TV and OH was going to turn it over as I was getting so worked up - why would you use ready made breadcrumbs when you can whizz a slice in processor especially as she already had it out to make a Salsa. Where does she buy all those jars/packets/tins - didn't recognise any of the labels - just wanted to price up some of those dishes because they looked like they would be more expensive than a Takeaway so who is this programme aimed at? Also, these are not ingredients that you would just happen to have in your Storecupboard so you wouldn't be able to cook unplanned. Shall still watch next week out of curiosity and will also be a chance to rant again and vent my frustration;)

HariboJunkie

livalot wrote: »

Most of us on this forum love cooking and find following recipes easy because we have been taught one way or another by our mums, grans, cookery teachers etc. I think a lot of people on here forget that!. But a huge number of the population cannot cook, can’t be bothered and do not have the confidence to even start! They survive on microwave meals, takeaways and eating out…… but opening a couple of jars, actually mixing the contents together and stirring them in a pan on top of a stove…….well that is cooking for them ……and not just heating through . I bet you any money that more people will try Delia’s latest recipes and buy her book than some of these other TV chefs who uses 55 ingredients just to produce one little dish, lovely to watch but they do not really encourage you to cook. By the way, when was the last time any of you actually used one of their recipes?....... all I seem to do now is follow recipes on this forum or in books bought second hand in charity shops because they work!

I love cooking and having watched Delia's programme last night for the first time, I admit I found it boring…..but it is not aimed at me ….. and it is not aimed at the vast majority of people who come to this web site so leave it well alone and please stop criticizing..... . .


Cristina

In the last week I have used recipes by Rick Stein, Delia and Jamie Oliver. None of the recipes called for 55 ingredients.:rolleyes:

Perhaps if you are to post on here asking us to "leave it well alone and please stop criticising" you could do the same about the chefs whose recipes I follow.

I personally believe that society is wasteful enough without learning how to spend money on food which is grossly over packaged instead of being thrifty in the kitchen and setting a responsible example to our children.


I'm sure Delia didn't go into this programme with her eyes closed about her target market and if it is useful to some people then great but it is not useful to me or a great many others on this thread and we are entitled to our opinion on that.

ryandj

I have also long been a Delia fan but I had to turn off the TV program last night as it was making me into too much of a rage.

I mean - jar of pasta sauce + tin of cooked mince beef & onions = bolgnaise!!

What absolute rubbish!!

That is the kind of tasteless awful food I cooked as a student who didn't know any better. You can make a healthy tasty bolognaise style sauce in about half an hour - 40 minutes, and cooking pasta itself takes 20 minutes anyway.

And then she has the cheek to parade out a tub of pre-whipped fresh cream and tell us how much of a hassle it is to whip your own cream! O dear, how difficult! Maybe 1 minute tops with an electric whisk.

I understand that we are a busy nation and are time-poor etc etc, but programs like this are just encouraging us to turn into a nation of useless idiots.

And the main reason for the show I found out in Sainsburys today - in prime position, the fancy pasta featured on the show. And in Tesco I noticed things stickered with 'Delia Shortcut Ingredient' or some such rubbish.

Maybe not so much a recipe program as a marketting ploy!?

ryandj

And, I forgot to mention, its hardly MSE style anyway - what with all the pre- peeled/ chopped / prepared ingredients she champions are all termed as 'Value added' which just means the supermarkets do something like chop up a carrot (costing them virtually nothing) and charge you double for it.

Great scam there by Delia, J Sainsburys and Terry L of Tesco I am sure.

ryandj

Anyway, rant over! Sorry but I just thought the whole thing stank.

Gingernutmeg

Saw the programme last night, and *most* of the stuff she used was clearly identifiable as being from M&S or Waitrose. She also went along to the M&S offices, and spent five minutes in a lab telling us how 'nutritious' the M&S tinned meat was. I don't mind being advertised at, but surely this level of blatant advertising isn't allowed on the BBC? Jamie Oliver got in trouble for overusing 'his' product on Channel 4, how is Delia getting away with this ... it does kind of feel that this programme is crossing the line a bit when it comes to product placement.

hollydays

On a lighter note, I read a comment on Delias website where a contributor said her guests "ravished " one of these meals..er..well i can't quite think of the correct word either,but I think I know what she meant!

dorry_2

:eek: sorry, I have gotta join in this rant......

I would never dream of using tinned mince, yuk:eek: no way!!!

I do feel that Delia is trying to copy Nigella express but without of the her style.
I think her and mr.delia, heavily featured in the programme, have sat together and thought of how they can make some more money and are niave enough to think that we will just watch anything she calls cookery and buy her book:mad:

This is not a cookery programme, I turned off last night in disgust:eek:

THIRZAH

I've been doing my own "cheats" for years-making and freeziing pasta sauce in bulk, doubling up on things like pastry-so I can produce a home cooked meals for about the same time as one of Delia's.I think it's pity she uses so many tins etc but have bought the book (half price of course)

As to the cost-I have nearly all her books and some of the later ones use some pretty exotic and pricey ingredients. She has come a long way from her book on "Frugal Food"I had a terrible time trying to find dried coconut milk to make the coconut and lime cake from one of her books.

On the other hand -we went walking with a group on Friday. One of the woman-who hadn't seen the programme or read the book-was being really critical of Delia. Then she announced that she would have to find a supermarket on the way home as she hadn't anything to eat in the house-perhaps she would have found it useful to have a tin of mince and some frozen mash at home

misty-moodles

I've also got to say I'm so disappointed with Delia. I learnt to cook with her in the 80s (with a little bit of help from my mum!), and still have the Complete Illustrated Cookery Course which I still refer to now. I really feel as though she's sold her soul with this series - such a wasted opportunity, it all seems to be about product placement and talking with reps from Waitrose and M&S. Very disappointing!