Thanks for your understanding about my rather melodramatic article, which first appeared in the Independent. I liked your mechanic’s metaphor but the thing is, I don’t know of any DIY mechanic’s books that are pitched at absolute beginners in quite the same way that mass market cook books are. Jamie, Delia and Nigella are touting their recipes as suitable for beginners, so I do think there is some justification for criticism when beginners use them and they don’t work (and, boy, is the web buzzing with people who are pissed off with Nigella’s recipes these days). I also felt a little exasperated at recent recipes from her telling us to pour honey over cocktail sausages and put them in the oven, and Delia Smith telling everyone to buy instant mash and pre-grated cheese to save a couple of seconds. It seems like we are being lobotomised in the kitchen which is why many people find that they can’t follow recipes that are slightly more complicated.
I was fortunate enough to be able to live a kind of foodie fantasy, enrol at a great cooking school and they go and test my skills in a Michelin starred restaurant (L’Atelier Joel Robuchon), but I am actually not sure what the broader solution to this is. More cooking and nutrition classes in schools, probably.