Many people will remember Sophie Dahl as a) Roald Dahl’s daughter, who inspired the BFG b) the “groundbreaking” size 14 supermodel who was controversially photographed naked to promote perfume c) the size 14 model who stood for body confidence and then dropped 3 dress sizes.
So, chances are, if you’re a heat-reading wag-loving female, you dislike Sophie Dahl. And of course, on hearing that she has a cookery show the instant conclusion is that she is cashing in on Nigella’s success, playing the doteful housewife now that her modelling career has stopped, or clutching at straws to stay famous. What’s that, you don’t write for a tabloid and aren’t Giles Coren in a dress? Well read on!
Sophie Dahl has never claimed to be a pioneer for bigger women, indeed she has denied that she has had an eating problem/more-irregular-than-usual issue with her weight. She is a woman that lost weight on adopting a healthier, home-cooked lifestyle, that includes butter, flour, potatoes and all those other “forbidden” foods. She knows that her body has changed, and her weight loss was neither drastic nor secret. Which merits a certain degree of respect.
Her new cookery programme aims to share the recipes she learnt as a child, and the stories of growing up in Britain that surround it. Interestingly, these recipes – traditionally British and passed down through the Dahl family – are health-conscious whilst being indulgent. Unlike Nigella, Delia, or Gordon, these meals and treats show that there is a way to enjoy food and eat what good for you, breaking the Dieter’s myth that if it is pleasureable it must be bad. Her toffee apple and pear crumble recipe is low GI, and she even makes Afternoon Tea from scratch.
Anastrophe and Cheese 