Delia Smith causes Stout sales rise

Delia Smith's new Christmas book is being hailed as boosting sales of stout.

14 November 2009 17:00



Delia Smith's new Christmas book is being hailed as boosting sales of stout.

The celebrity chef's endorsement has once again sparked a rush on certain ingredients which feature in her latest cookery book, Delia's Happy Christmas.

Supermarket Waitrose said it has seen sales of the dark beer rise by more than 25pc compared to last year and are up almost 40pc week-on-week in the run-up to December 25.

In the book, released in October, a recipe for traditional festive pudding includes 2.5fl oz of stout and suggests doubling the amount if another ingredient, barley wine, is not available.

The Norwich City majority shareholder told the Daily Mail: “I'm very encouraged if people are going back to a more traditional home-cooked Christmas, or even trying it for the first time. It's infinitely better and much cheaper.”

It is not the first time Delia has been behind a big surge in demand for ingredients, and in 2001 the “Delia Effect” made it into the Collins dictionary.

Email A Friend

News: Latest headlines on Evening News 24