Delia Smith, the doyenne of Christmas dinners, is taking a year off from cooking the festive feast for the first time in more than 50 years. The 83-year-old has been dishing out Christmas dinners and advice on how to prepare them for more than half a century. But this year the daunting task of cooking the Christmas turkey for the woman who has taught a nation how to do it will fall to someone else. And Smith says she is thrilled to be taking a break. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s This Natural Life from her Suffolk home, Smith said: