Last night, I sat down to watch Delia Smith's new cookery show, simply titled Delia (BBC Two, Monday, 8.30pm). Now, this new show of hers has already caused quite a stir as the basic premise is to show everyone how to cook... and cheat. You heard. Cheat. So while every chef under the sun rants about seasonal produce, Delia is getting the Smash out. As the RT said, "Next on the menu - barbecued sacred cow".

With these sidesteps, short-cuts and downright lazy options, you'd think that the show was a massive wash-out and a flare in the sky, signaling the end of cookery as we know it. All that hard work done by every chef who ever lived from year dot to present has been undone by lazy Delia and her stupid notions... right? Wrong. Very very wrong.

Watching the show left me with one major question: Is Delia the only real rebel in cookery? Seriously. Think about it. Jamie Oliver may play the drums and have a camera man who is a little unsteady on his feet, and with that, has gone on his crusades to save us all from BELLY'S GONNA GET YOU... and Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall has wept openly over hens, soothing their hock burns with his tears... but who is the only one in the maelstrom saying 'y'know what? Stick your lofty notions, some people can't cook to save their lives and if taking a few short-cuts is gonna kick-start a love affair with the hob, then here's the big F.U!' It's Delia that's who.

There isn't a show on the box that shows people how to start cooking. Ramsay et al are useful for people like me who aren't afraid to have a go in the kitchen... but if you're nervous about the difference between flours or how rare a piece of beef can be, then this new Delia show might just be a godsend.

I'd be lying if I didn't mention that I'm still not sure about the whole idea... I mean, I'd prefer someone to say "y'know somethin'? Let's make some nice mash. I'll show you how simple it really is. No messing about adding suave cheeses and cream..." but the last time Delia taught us how to boil an egg, the food world went mad at her. "I THINK WE ALL KNOW HOW TO BOIL AN EGG DELIA!" Well... actually, some of us don't.

So does this mean that Delia is the only chef in the food world with a punk attitude? Chefs are always sniffy puritans... a bit like the prog bands of the 70s... and Delia? Here's three chords - now start your own band. Delia even refers to some professional dishes as "theatre on a plate" and "poncey" which makes her "sad". You've gotta admire that. The show even wheels out the clip of her on the pitch at Norwich City's Carrow Road, drunk, yelling "Let's be 'aving you!" I probably mocked her at the time... but she's a punk! She's The Ramones with pots and pans!

It's a shame, but completely understandable, that she justifies her taking of shortcuts throughout the programme... she even gets Nigel Slater in to back her up... but I think it isn't necessary. Each show should end on a freeze frame of Delia sticking two fingers up at everyone. Instead, we see the glitz being peeled away and Delia grabbing the boom and making the soundman taste her soup with a demand to hear him slurp... and we do. I guess that's as close to a two fingered salute as we're gonna get... and you know what? I'm oddly enthused by the whole thing. The revolution will be televised folks...