Because You Can’t Spell ‘Cheat’ Without ‘Eat’

Posted by Baylen on May. 12, 2008

skitched-20080512-102438.jpgDelia Smith, who’s basically the Sandra Lee of England, is helping create a nation of cheaters, according to Britain’s Daily Express (which modestly bills itself as “the world’s greatest newspaper”).

Britain is breeding a generation of lazy cooks who cheat at dinner parties with dishes they pretend are home-made.

Millions of us admit to cutting corners when it comes to entertaining at home in a bid to impress our guests.

We serve up ready meals and packet sauces and pass them off as our own, according to a survey.

Eighty-five per cent of people said they simply do not have the time to cook meals for friends from scratch using fresh ingredients.

The research comes as TV cook Delia Smith, 66, continues to be criticised for promoting easy-to-prepare meals, often using frozen foods. Delia’s quick-fix method in her book How To Cheat At Cooking and BBC spin-off has struck a chord with busy families who simply do not have the time or energy to waste over a hot stove.

Delia was criticised for recommending recipes using ingredients including tinned minced meat, frozen mashed potato and cheese sauce from a packet.

In his famously outspoken manner, fellow TV chef Gordon Ramsay described her cooking style as an “insult”.

In one of my favorite moments from the underrated Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Angelina Jolie’s Mrs. tells husband Mr. (Brad Pitt), after he criticizes her aim with a gun as being “as bad as [her] cooking,” that she’d always ordered out and had never, in fact, cooked a meal for her hubby.

Compare Sandra Lee’s spaghetti “recipe,” which includes a jar of Newman’s Own sauce and packages of pre-sliced garlic and mushrooms, with Delia Smith’s less unambitious penne with asparagus and four cheeses, which includes Sainsbury’s fresh four cheese sauce and pre-grated parmesan.

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Viewing 4 Comments

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    To be clear (cause I can be a little dense)...

    The outrage aimed at folks like Lee and Smith is basically the falsehood in their recipes (Semi-Homemade! just read the sauce label, and all will be explained!). I'm OK with that on face.

    But the a relevant point (aside form the dinner party angle) that the article tries to make but misses for me is the idea that on a given Tuesday night, after I get home from work, after my son's t-ball practice, I don't really have time to spend an hour or more in the kitchen just cooking. Sometimes my Spam fried rice recipe (really quick if you cook the rice ahead of time) is awesome for moments like that. It's not that I'm lazy per se. Its that I'd like a little downtime between eating, kids and bedtime.

    Of course, I've gotten around some of this by making meals at home on the weekends, and freezing/keeping them for the week nights.

    BTW awesome site.
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    Another notable food network "cheat" is Robin Miller, who cooks one main ingredient (e.g. a pork loin) and then makes three different meals out of it.
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    Delia Smith is the Martha Stewart of Britain.
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    I knew that Gordon Ramsay would be outraged at Delia. You can't blame the man for he's more devoted to his field.

    By the way, have you heard about Lion's Deal, the online kitchen and restaurant equipment store? They've got lots of great discount in their web site! Just enter the coupon code on the checkout page to get the discount 'online 10' which will give 8-10% off everything on the entire website with a minimum $50 order.

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