25 NOVEMBER 1995, Page 38

Heat in the kitchen

Sir: All honour to Philip Hensher for mak- ing Delia Smith's his worst book of the year (Books, 18 November). He could have gone further, and called into question her moral standing. Vanished from print is her How to Cheat at Cooking (Ebury Press 1971; Coro- net 1973). If squirting lemon juice into Heinz chicken soup or adding a knob of cheddar to a packet of Bachelor's TAick Devon Onion are not the worst of crimes, both surely merit a jail sentence and cer- tainly flout the command 'thou shalt not bear false witness' — which sits oddly with the authorship of Journey Into God, Feast for Advent, Feast for Lent and Journey Into Prayer.

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