Two Fat Ladies' Clarissa Dickson-Wright Blasts Delia Smith's Cheat Show

Mar 23 2008 By Kevin Turner

CELEBRITY cook Clarissa Dickson-Wright has hit out at Delia Smith's new TV show.

Dickson-Wright spoke out about Delia's new BBC2 show How To Cheat At Cooking, which encourages people to use ready-made ingredients.

The 60-year-old said: "I like Delia very much but if she thinks she's going to feed the poor on canned M&S mince then I despair.

"And don't let's get into the frozen mashed potato. I don't know how you would do it if you haven't much money. Of course, what we need are more cooks and fewer chefs.

"But I rarely see anyone cooking on TV who I like except the Indian cook Anjum Anand. Restaurant chefs don't actually cook, they just present food."

Former Aberdeen University rector Dickson-Wright found fame in the nineties as one half of TV cooks the Two Fat Ladies.

Delia is the UK's best-selling cookery author with more than 18 million books sold.