Take Three or Delia Smith

Take Three

Author: Jenny Whit

A fun, innovative approach to cooking that is perfect for modern living.

Interesting book: Crime and Local Television News or Power Production and Social Reproduction

Delia Smith: The Biography

Author: Alison Bowyer

Delia Smith is more than just a cook—she has become a national icon with a loyal following of fans and a business empire worth millions. She single-handedly brought about The Great Cranberry Crisis of 1995 when her fans cleared supermarket shelves of the fruit, and a previously small-time saucepan manufacturer saw its turnover soar with a mention of their omelette pan. This book tells the extraordinary story of this woman's life, from leaving school without a single qualification to becoming the undisputed queen of the kitchen. Drawing upon interviews with friends and colleagues, this biography shows that life has not always been easy for Delia, but reveals how her iron will ensures that she remains one step ahead of her rivals.

Kirkus Reviews

Earnestly admiring biography of the British cooking icon. Alternating between breathless commentary and tough quotes from critics (serious foodies are not so smitten as the general public), British journalist Bowyer follows Smith from her lower-class childhood in a London suburb to her illustrious present. Tony Blair offered her a life peerage, the Queen honored her, and she is reputed to be worth over Ј24 million. Not bad for a woman who left school in 1957, at age 16, to work as a hairdresser in London. There, Smith began making interesting friends, learned how to dress, and in 1962 met a mentor: Leo Evans, a metallurgy professor by day and a chef by night who transformed her life. Working evenings at a popular restaurant for which Evans cooked, she soon moved up from washing dishes to preparing dishes under his tuition. Other cooking jobs followed, and she gave up hairdressing. Bowyer records Smith's beginnings as a columnist for a London daily; her detailed but simple recipes soon made her a household name. She wrote books and had her own shows on the BBC; one series became The Complete Cookery Course, which on video has sold more than a million copies. A profitable association with a magazine connected to a major grocery chain has also helped make her very rich. Smith, a convert to Catholicism, has written religious books and donated generously to charity. To demonstrate how influential Smith's cooking shows are, Bowyers points to her praise of a particular omelet pan—the manufacturer had to hire 15 additional workers to deal with the demand—and her use in a recipe of the unfamiliar-to-Brits shallot, whose sales subsequently increased by 2,000 percent. No one claims Smith is aninnovative chef; Bowyer thinks much of her success is due to her ability to explain cooking in terms everyone can understand. Dutifully assembles all the ingredients, but the result is a literary pudding without theme.