The Bookseller.com

21st November 2008

Delia reissues cookbook classic

16.09.08 Katie Allen

Delia Smith is to tackle the coming recession with a reissue of her classic 1976 cookbook Frugal Food.

The £17.99 hardback will be published by Hodder on 30 October. The original has never been out of print, and was designed to provide ideas for those struggling with rising food prices. 

Smith has also launched a column in the Telegraph's Saturday magazine, exploring the concepts behind Frugal Food, with possible serialisations of the title in the pipeline.

Hodder m.d. Jamie Hodder-Williams said: "We have had the book on our list for years, but [developed the idea] over the summer." He added, "It was Delia who thought it was more relevant than ever before . . .  If you read the original introduction, it was about oil prices, rising inflation and avoiding waste, the same things we read about in the newspaper every day. It was the perfect time to do it."

The title has been updated with colour photography replacing the original black and white illustrations and a new introduction by Smith. The text has been revamped, but will keep 170 of the original recipes plus Smith's 10-point "Cheap Charter", which offers advice such as how to use leftovers and buy the best value meat.

Hodder-Williams said, "It is essentially the same; British traditional cooking is as valid today as it always was." The recipes include classics such as bubble and squeak and roast lamb with coriander.

Smith said, "What goes around comes around. After a period of affluence we are now once again, as in the '70s, facing cutbacks and shortages." She added, "It is my hope that a new generation faced with rising food costs will also find it helpful."

All royalties are going to the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development .   

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