Sunday 17 February 2008

Where's Retford?

On a trip to Rufford Park on a lovely spring day, it was rather annoying to notice that at the new A1/A57/A614 Apleyhead junction, between Retford and Worksop (and the most direct route into the area from Nottingham) there are no directions to Retford! Do we not exist? Come on highway agencies a little help to get people into the town would be helpful.

Delia

Oh dear! The knives are out for Delia Smith in the press following comments she has made publicising her new book How to Cheat in Cooking. She is quoted as saying she does not "do organic" and that "cheaply-produced chickens were vital for poorer families who could not afford to buy free-range or organic produce". In the Sunday Times Lydia Slater criticises Delia's recipe for shepherd's pie using tinned meat, ready diced vegetables and frozen potatoes. "Laden with plastic bags from different supermarkets, I staggered home. The shopping trip took an hour, assembling and cooking the ingredients, a further hour. The result was ... okay." She calculated the cost of the meal as just under £7, "I couldn't help noticing that Tesco Finest shepherd's pie would have set me back just £3.79" This seems to be somewhat at odds with Delia's aim to provide nutritious meals at bargain prices.

How to Cheat in Cooking is currently (17/02/08) on sale at Bookworm for the bargain price of £10.