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| Delia's How to Cheat at Cooking | 
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| Author: Delia Smith
Creator: Photography Copyright John Kernick
Publisher: Ebury Press
Category: Book
List Price: £20.00
Buy New: £5.00
You Save: £15.00 (75%)
New (40) Used (10) from £5.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  144 reviews
Sales Rank: 173
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.3
Dimensions (in): 10.7 x 7.6 x 0.8
ISBN: 0091922291
EAN: 9780091922290
Publication Date: February 15, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 I really don't know what I think about Delia's How to Cheat at Cooking April 28, 2008
6 out of 12 found this review helpful
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.
Ingredients NOT Available in Ireland April 26, 2008
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
Hi I live in Kildare in Ireland and I found that obtaining the ingredients used in the recipes in this book impossible to source locally even though we have a range of stores such as Tesco and Marks & Spencer.
I would find it hard to judge the book but only to say that it does not appear to be designed for use outside the UK, were I can only assume these products are easily obtainable.
On this I would not recommend this book to anyone in Ireland although I do enjoy Delia's other books and rate them highly.
 Fed up with Celebrity Chefs April 24, 2008
7 out of 11 found this review helpful
My kitchen bookshelf groans under a wide selection of cookery books by Celebrity Chefs. Used for special occasions they have their place. However, for my day to day 'something for a change' situation my dog-eared Good Housekeeping Cookery book smeared with the DNA of past feasts is my bible. I live in France and I often need something in a hurry to feed the succession of family and friends whom we warmly welcome for short or longer visits and so this new book by Delia has won my heart. I can't nip to Waitrose, Tesco or Asda, but I can find something equivalent (hopefully) in my local supermarket. More healthy variations can be substituted quite easily if necessary - but we are talking HURRY here aren't we?
When I cook for my visitors I don't want to be stuck in the kitchen with Anthony and his career chefs fussing over chopping and stirring, yet I do want to serve an attractive meal which will have folks asking for the recipe. So for me Delia has cracked it, and our visitors can enjoy our home-grown veggies alongside the cheating.
There are French cheats too - I know lots of them.
Thanks, Delia. Its a book which I shall consult very regularly.
But ... it's all wrong! April 21, 2008
8 out of 19 found this review helpful
Isn't it? I mean - if I want to make a Shepherd's Pie I'd probably find it easier to hire an actual Shepherd than trudge from Waitrose (for the tinned lamb) and then to Sainsburys (for the ready-made potato topping) to Argos (for a 40" LCD TV that I can then fling tasteless Smash potato chunks at when Delia's face pops up) before I finally stop off at Southwark Cathedral (for forgiveness).
How to Cheat at Cooking? You'd be better off with a kebab.
Oh dear. Delia. You were slain in the high places.
 Absolutely Awful April 21, 2008
10 out of 26 found this review helpful
This book and the show that goes along with it are absolutely abominable. From paying nutritionists to say that canned foods have high nutrient levels to promoting disgusting products to use in these "recipes", Delia is an embarrassment to chefs and cooks everywhere.
Any self-respecting cook should steer clear of this "cookbook" and buy one which actually shows you how to use fresh, real ingredients that will not only taste a thousand times better, but will provide the nourishment that food is supposed to, to get you through your busy working lives and give your kids what they deserve.
The Jamies and Nigellas of the cooking world have dozens of books out there that show you how to make fast meals that retain integrity- both of the food and the cook!! And in the worst case scenario, a store bought ready-meal is likely to cost you less, taste better and save you more time than Delia's horrible recipes.
Did I mention that I would NOT recommend this book?
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