Are TV cooks still relevant?

Delia Smith's approach to cookery has been the subject of a string of jokes on the pressures facing ''real women''.

In an after dinner speech, the Euro MP, Glenys Kinnock, suggested "real women" used packet mashed potato instead of taking special steps to keep fresh potatoes in top condition.

Nor would they have any leftover wine to make into ice-cubes for future casserole dishes.

Delia Smith has said Glenys Kinnock appears to have quoted spoof instructions posted on the internet as a joke.

Mrs Kinnock has since insisted she did use Delia's recipes, and said her speech was meant to be humorous, not offensive.

Are TV cooks still relevant? Or are they out of touch with modern lifestyles?

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

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Your reaction

Does Glenys Kinnock, who as an MEP should be concerned about the appalling diet consumed by many people in Britain, really think that no one should bother trying to cook properly?

Allan Forrester, UK

Does Glenys Kinnock, who as an MEP should be concerned about the appalling diet consumed by many people in Britain, really think that no one should bother trying to cook properly? Does she wear it as a badge of pride that with today's "busy lifestyle" so many people live off pre-packaged synthetic food? Shouldn't she instead be applauding the efforts of Delia, Nigella et al. to encourage the British (not just women) to take an interest in their food? Has she learned nothing from her time in Europe?
Allan Forrester, UK

I say ban, ban, ban all cooks both male and female from our TV screens, they take up valuable time on our sets. No more TV cooks they are a nuisance.
Con-Lenihan, Australia

My mum gave me Delia's 'how to cook' book when I was 18. Twenty years later I'm still picking up tips from it. It gives great advice on how to cook roasts which I don't do very often so always forget how long to cook. Delia's recipes for Yorkshire pudding and pancakes (the same mixture) are so easy even my husband can make them!!!
Clare Breedon, UK

I love TV cooking shows. Here in the US we have a whole channel called the Food Network, which consists entirely of the type of program we are discussing here. Strange fact that some of the most popular slots are the English shows like Two Fat Ladies and Jamie Oliver's Naked Chef. Keep these shows coming. And God Bless Delia Smith, and Graham Kerr.
Tim, USA (from UK)

I was in my favourite pub in Suffolk recently and enjoyed a fantastic Steak and Ale pie. The girls in the kitchen said it was a Delia recipe, so what can you say?

JJ, Denver, USA

I have a home in Suffolk, and travel to England frequently. In my humble opinion, there has been a renaissance in English cooking over the last 20 over so years, and I believe this has been due largely to the TV Chefs of whom Delia is the tops - right up there with the best of them. We love cooking programmes in this house and here in the States we have some greats, Jacques Pepin, Wolfgang Puck, Emeril etc. The one thing they have in common is they all teach us, not just how to cook nutritiously, but the techniques, so yes, they're very relevant. I was in my favourite pub in Suffolk recently and enjoyed a fantastic Steak and Ale pie. The girls in the kitchen said it was a Delia recipe, so what can you say? Enough said. Incidentally, the only guy we cannot abide and hope to see no more is Ainsley Herriott with his unintelligible Mockney accent and his cooking cabaret, in which he is more interested in showcasing himself rather than the food. And finally, who is Glenys Kinnock?
JJ, Denver, U.S.A.

Well, we all have our favourite TV chef. But I can only commend Delia as she taught me to cook the perfect soft-boiled egg... So get over it Glenys go cook an egg!
Kevin J, UK

Delia Smith is the greatest living Englishwoman! She promotes "Real Cooking" of "Real Food". Cooking a meal from good quality fresh ingredients is fun way to spend an hour or two. Eating the results is a delight almost beyond measure!
John, England

I think that TV chefs are more on top of the realities of working lives than many of your correspondents realise

Alan P, UK

I think that TV chefs are more on top of the realities of working lives than many of your correspondents realise. Most cookery shown on TV today is fairly easy with little preparation time for those with the basic skills. Unfortunately most of us lack the basic skills and can't be bothered to learn. The ready meal is there for people who want to make the excuse that TV chefs and cookery in general are out of touch. They ought to wake up and try for once. Most of it is a doddle once you have the hang of it.
Alan P, UK

This may seem like a pedantic note, but I'd hate to see ignorance spread. To Dave, Kent, UK, if vCJD is caused by meat consumption, the amount of time it is cooked for is irrelevant. Prions can service more than what can be thrown at them in any household situation. And regarding beef, well, overcooking robs it of its texture and flavour, so it seems like good cookery to be.
Andrew Bartlett, UK

Some of these TV cooks would cook better if they got on with it and not got sidetracked.
Hazel, UK

I think that TV cooks are so out of touch, we can't all be on a budget like theirs.
Sarah Matley, UK

I don't see how Glenys Kinnock in Brussels has more insight into "real" women's lives than Delia Smith

Vicki, England

Don't you just hate sweeping statements? My first reaction was to feel very sorry for Neil Kinnock who it seems has lived for years on Smash! But then of course he hasn't, no EU commissioner has to live on packet meals. 5-star chef more like. I don't see how Glenys Kinnock in Brussels has more insight into "real" women's lives than Delia Smith. I've cooked Delia recipes AND I have Smash in my cupboard! Last time I looked I seemed pretty real to me.
Vicki, England

I've only cooked one recipe from Delia's How To Cook books. But I still use them more than any other reference book because they really teach good old fashioned basic techniques for getting steaks just right and other very useful basic information. When it comes to "normal" food I find that Nigella Lawson does the best cooking as she cooks nice, tasty and quick food without Jamie Oliver's "mockney" nonsense.
Christine, UK

Never mind about asking "are TV cooks still relevant" surely the real question is "is Mrs Kinnock still relevant"?
Dave Best, UK

Most TV cooks are no more than cabaret acts, but Delia is a splendid exception in that she cooks real food and explains the basics to those, sadly, who know only junk food, or exotica created by the cabaret artists.
John, UK

One must question whether the opinions of wives of ex-leaders of the opposition, on TV cooks or any other subject, are at all relevant, even if, or perhaps especially, if they are MEPs!
Bob Darby, UK

Cookery programmes do serve a purpose as entertainment and education, and like with all television programmes we get from them what we want. We may not be able to or have the time to do all the "clattering about" that some of the TV cooks do but I'm sure that we are influenced by them. They provide a service. I do wish however that they would sometimes just produce a two-course meal for a family which could be made quickly and easily from everyday items that we already have at home.
Graham, Netherlands

The only TV chef I have any time for is Jamie Oliver, and that because he encourages young lads to learn to cook, which is no bad skill for a bloke to learn. TV cookery is the second biggest waste of transmitter watts after football.
Guy Chapman, UK

Anything that promotes home cooking skills should be supported

Diana, Sydney, Australia

I love good cookery programmes and we receive many British programmes here.I really prefer watching chefs to cooks. Generally, professional attitude, clean hair and fingernails, make me feel more comfortable. Cookery programmes are part educational and part info-tainment? I accept that they cannot be all things to all people. Anything that promotes home cooking skills should be supported.
Diana, Sydney, Australia

In the US the television chef Julia Child has been a national institution since the 1970s. She has always based her approach expressly on recipes and cooking methods that are realistic for ordinary home cooks and on ingredients that are easily available - if not already in the house. By producing useful cooking shows she can, I think, take some credit for the revolution in home eating habits that has taken place here since the era of steak, potatoes, and soggy vegetables (purely for ornament, of course).
Matt, US

The Food Channel receives by far the most viewing hours at my house; it is perhaps not the cooks that matter as much as the creative ways of making food into works of art.
Andre, US

In Canada we are bombarded with TV cooks but Delia is the only one I can stand. Her approach is simple and direct and she makes the whole process interesting. I just wish her cookbooks were a lot cheaper so I could afford one.
Alan Thompson, Canada

I actually gave up watching TV after watching Jamie Oliver give out the "only proper way" to make a bacon sarnie!
Davina Smith, UK

They produce middle class social-climbers' food

Dave, Kent, UK

The only real problem with all TV cooks is that: 1. They talk down to us like we should all be having dinner parties and serving up five course meals. 2. They never ever cook anything properly so red meat and raw eggs abound - yes let's all get vCJD and salmonella out of cooking these wonderful dishes. 3. They ponse around with the food so it may look very pretty but is unlikely to ever get to the table hot. 4. They smother everything in sauce, salt, wine, herbs and everything else so that the substance of the meal is totally hidden. Other than that and perhaps with the exception of Jamie Oliver they produce what I would call middle class social-climbers food. Give me simple food, so I can see what it is on the plate!
Dave, Kent, UK

I would say that a half-boiled egg is more relevant than a Euro MP!
Mac, Scotland

Ever watched a cookery show? Not many people really have that much time to prepare a proper meal and are more likely to use convenience foods and ready meals. A recent ad made me think, with the line: "These days, even chefs are superstars." It's sadly true, but why? Because they can say "pukka"?
Matt, UK

I love most of the TV cooks - particularly Jamie Oliver and Delia. I watch to extend my repertoire of meals. I work long hours, but find cooking therapeutic. I love to try new things to cook and never having had any formal cookery training, even at school, or from my mother's elbow, I find it useful to learn how to do things properly. I detest pre-cooked and pre-prepared meals so my family always has fresh food, and Delia and Jamie and many of the others help me to add variety to my family's meals.
Pauline, UK

Cookery programmes are as valuable or useful as DIY programmes or gardening programmes. No one questions whether people have time to do DIY or whether they choose to pay a decorator instead. It's a TV show. It's entertainment - people use them for their own gains. For some it's to learn, for others it's to get new ideas and tips, for others, it's just something to watch because they can't find the remote. It really shouldn't be an issue on today's women. If there is one point to make in all this it's that Glenys Kinnock is obviously not up to date herself. Contrary to her remark, as she thinks it is only women who should be cooking and they have no other options than to follow what the TV chef says.
George, UK

Ancient proverb says: "Too many cooks have their own television programme."
Chris Booth, England

It may just be that I'm a rotten cook but I nearly always find that if I spend an hour or more getting a meal ready I feel that it wasn't worth the effort and I should have just bought a ready meal. But I enjoy watching cookery programmes and really admire and envy people that can cook well.
Kathryn, UK

Not all TV cooks are worth their salaries

Jon Cooper, UK

Surely it's impossible to talk about modern men and women as if they are all the same or have the same lifestyle, free time or cooking preferences? It's true we are perhaps busier now than ever before as a society, but we also have a more eclectic and multi-cultural diet. Not all TV cooks are worth their salaries, but personally I do enjoy making the effort to cook something special now and again - when I have the time that is!
Jon Cooper, UK

TV cooks teach people how to cook. Since few of us were taught properly in school then surely they serve a useful point. Politicians could perhaps try to resolve the issue. Being told how to make fruit salad and victoria sponge is not the most useful life skill to come away from school with.
James Rose, UK

If not, they should be! Who are the truly modern men and women - the ones who eat pre-packed meals, or the ones who pay more attention to what they eat and how they eat, by preparing their food themselves, from fresh, wholesome ingredients? I am not an organic' foodie, but the increasing popularity of such foods suggests that there are many of us who care about what we consume, and who enjoy the preparation of real, good food!
Malcolm Hay, UK

I completely disagree with Mrs Kinnock's snide comments. Delia Smith is a cookery guru and although we may not all have time to cook three course meals every day I'm sure out of choice we would all prefer to cook a meal from one of Delia's recipes than open a packet of smash! The point is that Delia's recipes are there not only for those of us who have more time to cook, but also to encourage people to try something new and even to create the chefs of tomorrow!
J Shepherd, UK

I have to agree that most of today's cookery programs do have very little resemblance to the real life of a working woman, for more than one reason. Aside from the obvious that we do not have time to spend hours preparing things in advance, or have all these exotic ingredients just laying around in our cupboards, the food they produce, although it always looks wonderful, bears no semblance to anything that a health conscious person can prepare on anything other than the most special of occasions! As a woman who tries very hard to eat healthily, I find that television cookery shows provide no inspiration. On the contrary, they're nothing but temptation.
Kat Goodwin, UK

In an age when cooking is not part of the national curriculum, Delia Smith is more relevant than ever

K Sadler, UK

This is the TV cook who wrote a book on how to cook an egg! More to the point how to make perfect scrambled eggs in two minutes in a microwave. Anyone who doesn't have time for that doesn't have time to eat. They are at risk of starving and urgently need to re-evaluate their lifestyles. In an age when cooking is not part of the national curriculum, Delia Smith is more relevant than ever.
K Sadler, UK

Not in my house, as I do all the cooking! My wife finds that the majority of TV programmes are aimed at food for entertaining not quick and easy meals. Personally, I'm to busy cooking to watch them!
Mike, UK

Of course! Although many TV cooks do use some impractical methods and some ingredients you'd never have in your cupboards it doesn't mean it's not relevant. For me cooking is all about experimentation and improvisation and although I rarely follow any recipes to the letter I love to watch cooking programs for new ideas and for tips and tricks and I feel my cookery has come on in leaps and bounds from watching programmes like Delia Smith's.
Liz, UK

TV chefs like Delia Smith and Gary Rhodes don't really have that much appeal to me as a working woman in my mid twenties. The recipes are complicated and take long periods of time that I just don't have. I really enjoy cooking as I find it a great stress reliever when I get home from work, but I prefer the likes of Jamie Oliver and Ainsley Harriot, who specialise in excellent nutritious recipes for the more time-conscious cook. Cooking should be appealing rather than time consuming and unfortunately, 101 recipes with cranberries aren't really all that much use to me - sorry Delia!!
Gerrie, UK

Shouldn't the question be: Are modern women relevant to TV cooks? What about modern men? After all in most households it seems to be the men that do the cooking, as the women seem to find cooking a restriction of their pseudo-feminist freedom.
Dave, UK

They are purely and simply another form of entertainment

Petra, UK

They are purely and simply another form of entertainment. I must comment on another's comment. Among the people I know it is not the men that do most of the cooking. In my household cooking duties are shared to some extent but generally done most by the person who enjoys it most (i.e. me). Dave, you must know some pretty uptight women.
Petra, UK

Dave is half right: there seems to be some sort of unspoken competition amongst the chefs to see who can serve the most rare meat. But you won't catch Delia doing that, because she's a decent cook rather than a fancy chef - the two should not be confused. Learning basic cooking principles is hugely relevant because then you don't need to eat unhealthy pre-packaged pap. I'm more than happy to use extra virgin olive oil, but the chefs can pour their sauteed truffle coulis straight down the sink as far as I'm concerned!
Richard, UK

I have never cooked anything that I have seen created on a TV show, though I do find many of the cookery programmes quite relaxing to watch and they tend to be more entertaining than most of the rubbish broadcast. It might not be directly relevant, but it may be more relevant than most programmes. They also get my gastric juices going before popping out to get the takeaway!
Ben Seymour, UK

Nigella Lawson has rejuvenated my diet, my kitchen, my life!

Virginia, US

Nigella Lawson has rejuvenated my diet, my kitchen, my life! Finally a "real" TV cook who makes practical sense, has a simple, realistic approach to food and cooking, and has taught me how to get a delicious meal on the table after work in under an hour, something no US TV cook has been able to do.
Virginia, US

My wife and I both enjoy cooking and love to watch cookery shows when we have the time, which, sadly, isn't often. Although it's quite true that most of what the TV cooks prepare is for parties or entertaining, we still get good ideas for flavour combinations and new ways to prepare foods we have eaten for years. Our kitchen is certainly not as well equipped as those featured on the TV but there are still lots of things we can do.
Marten King, USA

For me a good cookery programme is all about escapism

Justin Kibble, UK

For me a good cookery programme is all about escapism, as the father of a working family the chances of my reducing a coulis of cranberries and lemon zest down to a syrup over half an hour are fairly slim - but to watch Gary Rhodes, Nigel Slater or Rick Stein do the same to complete perfection is pure indulgence. I am then usually inspired to take the family out for a good meal at the weekend. So - I suppose TV Chefs have their place, to inspire people to enjoy good quality food and not get too separated from how it's prepared.
Justin Kibble, UK

I thought cookery programmes had been banned on the BBC. Whenever I tune in to find out how to cook something, all I get is a trendy director's HALF-BAKED attempt at cool photography in which the camera is never still, nothing is in focus for more than one second at a time and the food is, at best, incidental.
Graham Carter, UK

I work full time and during the week any food prepared at home must be ready in about 30 minutes. However, this does ensure that we eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and main dishes without all the salt and preservatives that go into ready-prepared meals. Why cannot manufacturers supply healthy food without salt?
Georgina Grant, UK

I enjoy watching Delia Smith but mainly for the view from her kitchen window. Nigella Lawson gives a much better view of what we would like to cook today in a busy household, sorry Delia but you are a little too formal.
Margaret Watts, Canada

I do most of the cooking at home and I find cookery shows useful and entertaining

Graham, USA

Is Glenys trying to tell us that, despite being a champion of feminism, she still does all the cooking and cleaning? I can't agree with Dave - men and women are both human and therefore inherently inclined to idleness - but, personally, I do most of the cooking at home and I find cookery shows useful and entertaining. What's wrong with having fun? Lighten up - you don't have to be as miserable as your weather.
Graham, USA

Inevitably, there are good TV cooks and poor ones. The judgement on what constitutes "good" must be subjective, depending on one's own narrow criteria. Personally, I think that Delia is first rate. Her advice is invariably practical and she is the natural successor to the pioneers such as Zena Skinner. Other candidates in this category include Floyd (cooking should be fun) and the two Fat Ladies, Jamie Oliver and Rick Stein (indefatigable enthusiasm). However, other chefs, such as Gary Rhodes seem more interested in satisfying their own vanity than dispensing sound advice. Now if Mrs Beeton could get her own TV show.
Murray, UK

Sorry Tracey. I have to agree with Dave. I do all the cooking in our house, which I find quite therapeutic. I use Delia's book as a sort of manual to check cooking times and methods of preparing food with pretty reasonable success. So I think Ms Kinnock is wrong and that TV chefs have their place, if only to spark ones imagination.
Robert, UK

Dave, what planet are you living on? In "most" households, men are doing all the cooking? Since when? IN MY DREAMS. I suppose TV cooks are relevant, and so are the dozens of recipe books in my kitchen cupboard. I just don't use them. I never have the time or energy! Cooking, to me, is a complete chore, like housework. A man who does all the cooking is like gold dust to me.
Tracey Dare, UK

Cookery programmes have changed in the past 12 or so years. Back in the 1980s a cookery programme was mainly of an educational nature and showed the viewer how to prepare a particular meal with detailed explanations of any special ingredients and techniques used. Cookery programmes nowadays are more of an entertainment variety which tend to feature celebrities rather than cooks with the programme run along the lines of a comedy rather than as a factual programme.
R Sobrany, UK

I would argue that showing people how to cook simple, tasty and nutritious meals is actually a public service. If more people knew how, it might be that a less obese, less sugar addicted and generally healthier British public would result.
Dave, UK