The way we cooked

When it comes to cuisine, are you a disciple of Delia?

Dinner parties have never been so popular. Cookery books fly off the shelves as people look for the ideal recipe for entertaining at home.

This morning on Breakfast, we'll be looking at how our attitudes towards food have changed over the past half century.

Marguerite Patten: one of the first TV chefs

And it's thanks, in no small measure, to a small group of people: the TV Chefs.

From Fanny Craddock, to Graham Kerr; from Delia Smith to Jamie Oliver, it seems we're desperate to find a kitchen guru who will make us look like the perfect host and hostess.

This morning on Breakfast, we talked to Margeurite Patten, one of the first ever TV chefs

In half a century, she told us, TV cookery has changed beyond all recognition.

She recalled being publicly condemned by no less a man than Winston Churchill in 1954, when her TV recipe for Christmas pudding included alcohol.

In the years which followed, viewers have got used to seeing the likes of Keith Floyd grabbing a drink while cooking.

Even Fanny Craddock wasn't averse to the odd sherry at the hotplate.

click here to see Marguerite Patten's interview in full on Breakfast

click here for the BBC's fun crazy chef game

The Way We Cooked begins tonight (Wednesday) on BBC Two at 8pm