349 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
349 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
news
|
||
celebritynews
|
||
7711684
|
||
-----
|
||
# 'I'd be ashamed to offer Delia Smith's risotto to a guest'
|
||
|
||
## Delia Smith's seafood risotto has been described variously as 'dreadful',
|
||
'wrong' and 'yuck'. Harry Wallop cooks it for himself.
|
||
|
||
![Delia Smith: 'I'd be ashamed to offer Delia Smith's risotto to a guest'][1]
|
||
|
||
Delia Smith Photo: GETTY IMAGES
|
||
|
||
By Harry Wallop 7:00AM BST 12 May 2010
|
||
|
||
[Comments][2]
|
||
|
||
There is no fury like a Delia acolyte scorned. They are like Lembit Opik told
|
||
he is no longer the country's most famous Lib Dem: baffled, resentful and
|
||
unwilling to accept reality.
|
||
|
||
While it is the fall out from the election that has vexed Westminster all
|
||
week, it is the curious case of a seafood risotto that has caused an army of
|
||
Delia fans to vent their fury.
|
||
|
||
It is a simple recipe that Delia has produced as part of her and Heston
|
||
Blumenthal's tie-up with Waitrose. Just a simple recipe.
|
||
|
||
But to read the comments posted on the supermarket's website, you would have
|
||
thought she had gone out and torn off the limbs of young children using a
|
||
grapefruit slicer.
|
||
|
||
"Incomprehensible how Delia, whose cooking philosophy is so reliable and
|
||
straightforward, could have got this one so wrong," posted one.
|
||
|
||
## Related Articles
|
||
|
||
* [Blumenthal's Waitrose range][3]
|
||
|
||
06 Jul 2010
|
||
|
||
* [Waitrose rebuked for Heston Blumenthal pig advert][4]
|
||
|
||
20 Oct 2010
|
||
|
||
"I'm a lifelong Delia fan and can't say I've ever had a disaster with any of
|
||
her recipes but this was dreadful," was another comment.
|
||
|
||
"YUCK, YUCK, YUCK," was perhaps the most succinct.
|
||
|
||
Even _Watchog_, the BBC's venerable consumer affairs programme, saw fit to
|
||
investigate the recipe as if it were some dodgy car dealer or rogue plumber.
|
||
Delia's reputation, hard won over four decades of teaching the country how to
|
||
cook, was trashed by the Queen of Mean, Anne Robinson in five words.
|
||
"Disgusting. It is so horrible," she said trying to sneer - though, with all
|
||
that Botox it was hard to say if it was a sneer or toothache.
|
||
|
||
I'm of the view that anything that winds up Anne Robinson has some merit, so
|
||
it was time to cook the infamous dish and see for myself.
|
||
|
||
The Waitrose scheme with Smith and Blumenthal is very clever. For less than
|
||
£2million, the supermarket has secured the services of two of the most sought-
|
||
after cooks in the country for over a year. One appeals to foodies who think
|
||
they are cooking Michelin-starred food because they wield a blow torch fuelled
|
||
by lighter fluid. The other is a surrogate mother, on whose apron strings we
|
||
can tug when our souffles start to deflate.
|
||
|
||
Each week one or the other demonstrates a new recipe in an elongated
|
||
television advert. Pop into Waitrose and there all the ingredients can be
|
||
found gathered together on a prominent shelf.
|
||
|
||
As Delia's agent, Deborah Owen, says: "I love the idea, when you are really
|
||
busy and you have no idea what to cook for some friends coming around, it is
|
||
there for you: all the ingredients and a recipe card."
|
||
|
||
The scheme, launched in March, has been a huge hit. Despite meticulous
|
||
planning, the supermarket is struggling to keep up with demand. Every time a
|
||
new recipe appears, sales are boosted by at least £1million as loyal customers
|
||
rush out to try a new idea.
|
||
|
||
My local Waitrose had sold out of the key ingredient: a £3.99 jar of Perard
|
||
Soupe de Poissons, a classic French soup.
|
||
|
||
According to Steve Field, in charge of the dried goods section at the Holloway
|
||
Road branch, the supermarket had sold three years' worth of fish soup in one
|
||
week. Head Office said it had shifted 55,000 of the expensive, rarefied jars
|
||
over the last week.
|
||
|
||
Mr Field pointed me in the direction of the nearest store with the soup in
|
||
stock, and warned me, as I headed off, "It's delicious, but potent. Make sure
|
||
you open the window."
|
||
|
||
Hardly encouraging. But cooking the recipe was certainly easy. No simmering of
|
||
stocks and browning off of onions, like most risottos.
|
||
|
||
Delia is back in her cheat-by-using-expensive-packets mode. The whole jar of
|
||
soup is poured on top of the rice, a glug of wine added, and you wait
|
||
patiently.
|
||
|
||
At first the smell is fine - after all, Perard are very much the Christine
|
||
Lagarde of French soups. Classy.
|
||
|
||
But as the soup reduces, and gets soaked up by the rice, the concoction gets
|
||
thicker and more pungent. The addition of dry white wine - without burning off
|
||
the alcohol - adds an acidic note.
|
||
|
||
By the time I opened the frozen pack of mixed seafood into a frying pan,
|
||
allowing them to boil in their watery juices, I was starting to have serious
|
||
doubts and my kitchen was smelling like a cheap Marseilles brothel.
|
||
|
||
Transferring it from frying pan to plate required the skill of a master
|
||
bricklayer applying a dollop of mortar to a crumbling wall. I had, according
|
||
to Delia, just produced a risotto that should be "yummy".
|
||
|
||
Well, it's not the worst meal I've ever eaten. A mutton fat soup eaten in Ulan
|
||
Ude will forever hold that honour. But it is certainly something I'd be
|
||
ashamed to offer to any guest.
|
||
|
||
The lovely fish soup had coagulated into a rather nasty and acrid, thick blob
|
||
of rice, studded with rubbery bits of seafood. Risottos should be creamy, and
|
||
however strongly flavoured, they should be light on their toes.
|
||
|
||
This had the finesse of John Prescott negotiating a peace deal with Ukip.
|
||
|
||
And the dish didn't come cheap. If you bought all the ingredients from
|
||
scratch, your pocket would be about £16 lighter - a point made by many of the
|
||
angry shoppers posting their views on Waitrose's website.
|
||
|
||
The supermarket is phlegmatic about the rebellion it has caused, helped by the
|
||
extra £1million in sales. A spokesman said: "We're very sorry if it's not to
|
||
some people's taste. Judging by other comments and the high sales of all the
|
||
things that go into the risotto, many customers clearly love it."
|
||
|
||
Well, most bought the ingredients before they knew what they'd let themselves
|
||
in for.
|
||
|
||
The final verdict came from my wife, who has been recovering from a bout of
|
||
Norovirus. "Oh God, what on earth have you been doing," she exclaimed as she
|
||
came in the house, before rushing out with her mouth and nose covered in a
|
||
handkerchief.
|
||
|
||
Smith is so powerful that she has made it into various dictionaries. It's just
|
||
unfortunate that this time around, "the Delia effect" has caused such a
|
||
violent reaction.
|
||
|
||
[X][5] Share & bookmark
|
||
|
||
Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
|
||
|
||
Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
|
||
|
||
[What are these?][6]
|
||
|
||
* Share: [Share][5] [ ][7] [ ][8]
|
||
|
||
[Tweet][9]
|
||
|
||
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/7711684/Id-be-ashamed-to-offer-
|
||
Delia-Smiths-risotto-to-a-guest.html
|
||
|
||
Telegraph
|
||
|
||
## [Celebrity news][10]
|
||
|
||
* ### [UK News »][11]
|
||
|
||
* ### [Family »][12]
|
||
|
||
* ### [Food and Drink »][13]
|
||
|
||
* ### [Recipes »][14]
|
||
|
||
* ### [Features »][15]
|
||
|
||
Related Partners
|
||
|
||
* [Stylish celebrities at the Investec Derby Festival][16]
|
||
|
||
In news
|
||
|
||
[![][17] ][18]
|
||
|
||
### [Cheryl Cole in pictures][18]
|
||
|
||
[![Elle Mcpherson and Kate Moss][19] ][20]
|
||
|
||
### [Celebrity sightings][20]
|
||
|
||
[![Chelsea Flower Show 2011: Bill Bailey pictured with a man dressed as a
|
||
monkey at the Borneo Exotics Garden][21] ][22]
|
||
|
||
### [Celebrities at Chelsea Flower Show][22]
|
||
|
||
[![Vicky McClure with the Leading Actress award at the Philips British Academy
|
||
Television Awards at the Grosvenor House, 90 Park Lane, London][23] ][24]
|
||
|
||
### [The Bafta TV awards][24]
|
||
|
||
[![Police booking photos: mugshots of the rich and famous ][25] ][26]
|
||
|
||
### [Mugshots of the rich and famous][26]
|
||
|
||
[X][5] Share & bookmark
|
||
|
||
Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
|
||
|
||
Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
|
||
|
||
[What are these?][6]
|
||
|
||
Share:
|
||
|
||
* [ ][5]
|
||
|
||
* [ ][7]
|
||
|
||
* [ ][8]
|
||
|
||
* [Tweet][9]
|
||
|
||
* Advertisement
|
||
|
||
![][27]
|
||
|
||
telegraphuk
|
||
|
||
Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][28] [blog
|
||
comments powered by Disqus][29]
|
||
|
||
[![Follow The Telegraph on social media][30]][31]
|
||
|
||
Advertisement
|
||
|
||
[Follow The Telegraph on Social Media »][31]
|
||
|
||
Like Telegraph.co.uk on Facebook
|
||
|
||
Advertisement
|
||
|
||
[Telegraph Dating][32]
|
||
|
||
* [Men][33]
|
||
|
||
* [Women][34]
|
||
|
||
* [Search for free][35]
|
||
|
||
I am a:
|
||
|
||
Woman Man
|
||
|
||
Looking for:
|
||
|
||
Women Men Men & Women
|
||
|
||
Aged:
|
||
|
||
181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950515253545556
|
||
575859606162636465666768697071727374757677787980818283848586878889909192939495
|
||
96979899100 to 1819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474
|
||
849505152535455565758596061626364656667686970717273747576777879808182838485868
|
||
7888990919293949596979899100
|
||
|
||
Within:
|
||
|
||
5 miles 10 miles 20 miles 40 miles 60 miles 100 miles 200 miles 300 miles
|
||
|
||
UK postcode:
|
||
|
||
Photos only:
|
||
|
||
|
||
[Search more Kindred Spirits][32]
|
||
|
||
News Most Viewed
|
||
|
||
* TODAY
|
||
|
||
* PAST WEEK
|
||
|
||
* PAST MONTH
|
||
|
||
1. [3.5 minutes of terror: Air France crash dropped at 10,000 feet a
|
||
minute][36]
|
||
|
||
2. [Royal wedding: a peek into royal couple's honeymoon paradise][37]
|
||
|
||
3. [Councils spend 100m on taxpayer-funded credit cards][38]
|
||
|
||
4. [Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge wreck reveals secrets of the real
|
||
Pirate of the Caribbean][39]
|
||
|
||
5. [President Obamaâ™s top ten insults against Britain â 2011
|
||
edition][40]
|
||
|
||
1. [O'Bama? Oh puh-lease!][41]
|
||
|
||
2. [Rapture: the end was not nigh, after all][42]
|
||
|
||
3. [Cannes 2011: Peter Fonda encourages his grandchildren to take up arms
|
||
against President Barack Obama][43]
|
||
|
||
4. [Apocalypse not right now: 'Rapture' end of world fails to
|
||
materialise][44]
|
||
|
||
5. [Michelle Obama fights to control summer dress in windy London][45]
|
||
|
||
1. [Joe Biden opens his mouth about US Navy SEALs][46]
|
||
|
||
2. [Royal wedding live][47]
|
||
|
||
3. [Italians evacuate Rome over 'big one' fears][48]
|
||
|
||
4. [Osama bin Laden dead: Blackout during raid on bin Laden compound][49]
|
||
|
||
5. [Kate Middleton's family take action over nude pictures 'betrayal'][50]
|
||
|
||
[EDITOR'S CHOICE »][51]
|
||
|
||
### [Gil Scott-Heron: 'A voice for Shakespeare'][52]
|
||
|
||
[![Gil Scott-Heron][53]][52]
|
||
|
||
Composer, musician, poet and author whose writing provided a vivid commentary
|
||
on the black American experience.
|
||
|
||
### [Beekeeping diary: the new colonies arrive][54]
|
||
|
||
### [Spectacular light show dazzles Sydney][55]
|
||
|
||
### [WS Gilbert: a knight for our times][56]
|
||
|
||
### [The Telegraph's Matt is Hay Festival star][57]
|
||
|
||
Advertisement
|
||
|
||
Classified Advertising
|
||
|
||
* [Culture][58]
|
||
|
||
* [UK Breaks][59]
|
||
|
||
* [Motoring][60]
|
||
|
||
Loading
|
||
|
||
var puffs_8120616 = new Array();
|
||
|