Delia Smith, Waitrose

Delia is returning to Waitrose with her online cookery school

Delia Smith is returning to Waitrose to present her online cookery school on the company’s website.

The Delia Online Cookery School with Waitrose, launching today, offers a library of cooking lessons, tutorials and 40 videos free of charge, and will appear on Waitrose TV, the supermarket’s online video channel. Waitrose.com will also feature 150 Delia recipes.

Smith first launched her online cookery school as a standalone website in February. Although she does not appear on-camera, she writes and provides a voiceover for the site’s videos.

“We have a long and successful history of working with Delia and we’re thrilled to be joining forces again on the Delia Online Cookery School with Waitrose, which we believe will be the definitive online tool for cookery tuition,” said Waitrose marketing director Rupert Thomas.

“Inspiration and expertise are absolutely key to what we offer, and because of this our online content is now an integral part of our customer communications.

“This wealth of new content from Delia will complement the wide range of expertise already on Waitrose TV from contributors including Heston Blumenthal, Alan Titchmarsh and Phillip Schofield.”

Delia Smith added: “My ambition and my dream is that anyone who wants to learn to cook, can. So I have created an online cookery school to take somebody by the hand and lead them through it step by step. If you are from nine to 109 you will be able to learn anything from boiling an egg to baking a cake - I don’t think you can learn in a better way.”

Smith fronted adverts for Waitrose alongside Heston Blumenthal for three years until January this year, when her contract was ended “by mutual agreement”. Blumenthal continues to appear in adverts for the retailer.

Waitrose TV launched in October 2012, and in June launched its own gardening channel, presented by Alan Titchmarsh.