Delias Cheaty Cheating Cheater Show..discuss

So I DVR'ed this and watched it this morning, and Delia, Nigel Slater, The Guardian, The Observer, and pretty much just about every other person in the UK are making out like this cooking show is THE MOST IMPORTANT COOKING SHOW IN THE HISTORY OF THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD EVER THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF TIME.

And after watching it, eh, I don't want to eat Beef Mince from a can. Sorry. I understand the point she is trying to make, but some of those pre-prepared foods she was cooking looked gross!! She did a recipe with frozen potato wedges, its not THAT HARD to cut a potato into wedges and shove it in the oven.

Ah well, on to next weeks episode. Wait for my update then.

I read that subject line and thought, "what?  Delia's gone all Jeremy Kyle on us?"

So I DVR'ed this and watched it this morning, and Delia, Nigel Slater, The Guardian, The Observer, and pretty much just about every other person in the UK are making out like this cooking show is THE MOST IMPORTANT COOKING SHOW IN THE HISTORY OF THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD EVER THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF TIME.

And after watching it, eh, I don't want to eat Beef Mince from a can. Sorry. I understand the point she is trying to make, but some of those pre-prepared foods she was cooking looked gross!! She did a recipe with frozen potato wedges, its not THAT HARD to cut a potato into wedges and shove it in the oven.

Ah well, on to next weeks episode. Wait for my update then.

My husband actually made that recipe w/ the potato wedges from her cheating book and it was pretty good!
Still, there was way too much made of this show, I agree.

I haven't watched this series, but I have used some of her 'Cheats' recipes in the past and they're not bad. Her cheaty cheating cheater Tarte Tatin is lovely!

I read an article in The Guardian yesterday completely panning this book, and her new show.
The reviewers were most critical about the fact that many of the recipes were, in their opinions, more expensive and more complicated to make using the cheats. The examples they gave were the risotto and the cupcakes. And the yucky tinned mince.

I was really disappointed with the first show.   

I LOVE cookery shows and will watch pretty much anyone cook pretty much anything, but this wasn't actual cooking!  I mean, any old numpty with a camera and a tin of mince() could've presented this show.

If I didn't know better, I would've thought it was a spoof!  Hearing Delia say, "Now, just place 9-12 of these frozen mashed potato discs on top of the layer of tinned mince..." just REALLY jolted me. 

It's really not that hard to cook from scratch.

And that mince in a can looked like dog food.

Pass the bucket.

I haven't watched it but from what I've seen in the papers. not everything in her new book/show is that much of a cheat - using vege buillion powder for example, instead of making it from scratch. Who makes bouillion from scratch for heaven's sake! But yeah beef from a can and frozen mash is just plain old lazy! and probably tastes foul!

Actually, the frozen mash tastes pretty good! I was surprised myself, when I first tasted it. For a pretty long time, it tasted better than sodden starchy mess I was squeezing out of my ricer.

I've used the mince in a can from Asda for the kids and while, yes, it does look like dog food when you open it up, when you cook it and add it to mashed or baked potato, it's actually pretty tasty. Put some ketchup on it and the kids love it.

I've used the mince in a can from Asda for the kids and while, yes, it does look like dog food when you open it up, when you cook it and add it to mashed or baked potato, it's actually pretty tasty. Put some ketchup on it and the kids love it.

It's like Spam, though, if you didn't know it looked like that in its raw state, you could eat it.

Okay, I'm not counting raiding-the-cupboards while drunk and starving moments. 

Delia's not the only cheat by the way, have you ever seen that Ching woman? She pops round to her local Asian grocery and buys ready made sauces and pastes and on one of her shows she put some shop bought ice cream in a bowl and put smarties on top!!!

I haven't seen the show, but I do like to use ready made sauces and such. It's SO much easier to use the lovely Sacla olive and tomato stir-through sauce than to go the trouble to make it myself, for example.

I don't know what the controversy is over this show and book. Obviously loads of people cook this way, or else there wouldn't be so many convenience products.

I suppose the fuss is because if it's so easy to open a can or jar, why do we need a book or show about it?

There's two things here for me. 1, the hype for this show is UNREAL. I suppose its because Delia has been away from TV for a few years. The second is, I know people are using convenience products, I understand that, but the chemicals involved in preserving many of these foods can't be good for people. I know people eat them, and thats their choice, but frozen mashed potatoes aren't for me. Good or not, its not something I would buy or try. But if the food is good, by all means, ENJOY!!!