Delia Smith - The Queen of Cuisine

Delia Smith, 66, talks to Victoria Young about marriage, football and what inspired her new book, How To Cheat at Cooking

Life has changed completely. Women work and have families, but there's still got to be food on the table. My first book was called How to Cheat and it always lurked around in the back of my mind to re-do it. I realised it's something people need in their lives.

If you stock your store cupboard, freezer and fridge in the way I suggest in my book, it is revolutionary. It means you can decide what you want to eat while in the office, without going to a shop. And you can be spontaneous and invite people round knowing that a meal can be on the table in no time. One of the most exciting discoveries for me is how much freezing has come on.

The book is also inspired by the fact that I'm so busy myself. If I've got time, I love nothing more than to lock myself away in the kitchen, put the radio on and spend a whole day cooking. But we're all dashing about a lot. And it's nice to know you can come home and cook something that tastes good quickly and easily.

People are not taught to cook and they are afraid to cook. I hope this book will be one step in the right direction for these people to realise how easy it is. I think it's difficult when food becomes the domain of chefs. You need everyday cooking.

My favourite recipe at the moment – the most stunning thing in my whole book – is the authentic Thai curry. You buy all the Thai ingredients ready to go, keep them in the freezer then put them in the mini-chopper and whiz up a purée. It takes just 15 minutes – the time it takes for the jasmine rice to cook.

• The Queen of Cuisine
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