How MasterChef puts people off trying to cook at home, warns Delia Smith Says show intimidates rather than educates viewers on cooking Admires The Hairy Bikers shows for making cookery accessible Author, 71, believes shows make food into theatre By Laura Cox Delia Smith believes today¿s food programmes aim to entertain more than they educate Delia Smith has condemned TV programmes such as MasterChef for intimidating aspiring cooks and says the nation has lost its grip on home cooking. The woman who has encouraged millions to serve up simple family recipes for more than four decades said few celebrity chefs actually showed people the basics, such as "how to make an omelette." Asked whether she worried that shows such as MasterChef, the hit BBC1 series presented by John Torode and Greg Wallace, intimidated rather than inspired, she replied: "Yes, I would never be a judge on that. They used to ask me but I could never criticise people: my job is to make them feel they can do it. She did, however, express admiration for shows such as The Hairy Bikers on BBC2. "They make it funny and yet they make you think, "I'd like to make that." That's very clever," she said. The 71-year-old cook and author believes today's food programmes aim to entertain more than they educate. "Food isn't theatre and to make it into theatre is wrong," she told the Radio Times. It can speak for itself and it's wonderful and it's beautiful and it's art - it's everything. I don't think it needs that kind of embellishment. Our problem is we don't think highly enough of it, and so we think we've got to wrap it up in all kinds of other things. She added: "We've lost our grip on home cooking. I can see that by the way kitchen equipment shops are in decline. There are a lot of short cuts but the main problem is that people are afraid to cook. Author claims MasterChef, hosted by Gregg Wallace and John Torode, intimidates rather than inspires viewers Miss Smith, who remains Britain's top cookery author, selling 21 million books, recently announced her retirement from TV. She has now started an online cookery school, providing free step-by-step videos and promoting the message that cooking is something we all should be able to do. "Everybody now knows about food from around the world and what chefs do; but not everybody knows how to make an omelette," she said. What is missing is the basics. There's where I come in ... that's what I want to try and do: fill that gap. Miss Smith recalled filming her first TV series, Family Fare, in 1973 in a tiny studio. "The nearest running water was the ladies" loo so we used to fill two buckets with water - one with soap, one for rinsing - and have them under the counter where I worked," she said. They didn't have the money for editing so I had to do 25 minutes 40 seconds all in one go; if I made a mistake I had to start at the top. And they didn't do any close-ups because my hands were shaking too much. Asked whether she would turn down the BBC if the broadcaster approached her to work for the corporation again, she said: "I'd say, "I'll sell you what I'm doing. You can buy it and broadcast it in a five-minute slot.