Delia through the Decades - Episode 3

Delia Smith is a national treasure. In a career spanning five decades, she has ruled the roost as the queen of home cooking. This series celebrates Delia's career and the many ways she has shaped what people eat and how they cook it. Each episode is packed with archive footage, as Delia revisits her favourite recipes from each decade and recreates some with a contemporary twist. The 1980s were defined by Maggie Thatcher, Madonna, yuppies and Flashdance, and the decade was also when Delia became a household name. Amid the food scares of the decade - from listeria to salmonella - Delia eagerly tackled teaching the nation how to cook in the comfort of their own homes. Television series Delia's Cookery Course was a hit and the accompanying book went straight to the top of the bestsellers list. Delia cooks three dishes which remind her of the decade. Pasta became a national favourite and her favourite dish from that time is spaghetti carbonara. She recreates one of the public's most popular 'Delia desserts', squidgy chocolate log. Plus there are smoked fish creams, a classic 80s dinner party starter. The huge united fundraising effort of Live Aid inspired Delia to collate a book called Food Aid. This was a collection of recipes donated by the general public, celebrities and the royals, which raised 500,000 pounds for the cause. Chefs Gary Rhodes and Rick Stein pay tribute to Delia's genius for clear communication, Nigella Lawson tells how one of Delia's books was her inspiration during her student days, and Richard Curtis remembers how cute Delia looked on its cover.