The more Royalist-inclined among you will already know that the Prince of Wales turns 60 tomorrow. The BBC News website has a picture gallery to mark the occasion.

So what relevance does that have to Not Delia? Well, Picture 9 in the series shows two pictures of Prince Charles in a food or agricultural environment, accompanied with a caption referring to his organic food range launched in 1992 with produce from farms on his Duchy of Cornwall estate, Duchy Originals.

So far, so humdrum. But what really grabbed our attention was the caption, which included this gem:

But it is not without critics – chef Gordon Ramsay berated its salt and sugar levels

If you’ve ever seen the DVD that accompanies Ramsay’s book Gordon Ramsay Makes It Simple (and that title is a bit of a misnomer itself – it’s an excellent book, but most of the recipes in it aren’t really for the novice cook) you’ll already be falling about laughing. If not, get hold of a copy if you can. There’s prodigious quantities of salt flying around everywhere!

What makes it even funnier for Not Delia and me is that a couple of years back, we saw a skit on the ITV comedy show Monkey Trousers in which John Thomson parodied a TV chef on a morning programme. All was running smoothly at first. But then things started going off the rails when he gave his recipe for pancakes, which consisted of flour, water, butter, eggs – and a pinch of f***in’ salt…

Brown Windsor soup is a traditional British soup which was popular in Victorian and Edwardian times. For some reason it was also popular in the 1980s – and was a starter on the menu of Fawlty Towers.

Marguerite Patten in her Century of British Cooking book has this to say on the subject:

The title of this soup suggests it was a favourite at Windsor Castle but I can find no record that confirms this. Over the years the word ‘brown’ has prefixed the name. Sadly this often describes a very indifferent dish. The true Windsor soup, whether clear or thick and satisfying, is rich in flavour and very delicious. The bouquet garni suggested for this soup consists of parsley, thyme, rosemary, and a bay leaf.

(You can see two different recipes by Marguerite Patten for brown Windsor soup here: a clear version and a thick version.)

Since the 1980s brown Windsor soup has fallen out of fashion but – just as with many other dishes which have been cast aside like old lovers – it’s now become fashionable to create a new take on an old dish.

Donna Hay’s Modern Classics Book 1 also revives and recreates old favourites, although – to the best of my knowledge – she hasn’t written about brown Windsor soup yet.

That honour falls to Jamie Oliver, who published a brown Windsor soup recipe in the July 2008 edition of the Australian delicious magazine. Browsing through the magazine, I saw the photo and thought “Yum!”. It was only afterwards that I noticed the title – brown Windsor soup with pearl barley. Oh well, I’ll try just about anything once and had a go at making it.

It was pretty good. Certainly filling. I might make it again, but for similar cost, time and effort, and ingredients, on reflection I’d probably rather have goulash soup, which is more complex and tastier. I also made some dumplings to go with the brown Windsor soup – now that’ll stick to your ribs on a cold day.

Compassion In World Farming has been campaigning on behalf of animals for better welfare and to end cruel factory farming practices for nearly 40 years, and has a track record of achieving real change for farm animals.

They carry out hard hitting political lobbying, investigations that expose cruelty to farm animals and high profile campaigns designed to achieve better standards and happier lives for farmed animals everywhere. Their vision is a world where farm animals are treated with compassion and respect and where cruel factory farming practices end. Their mission is to advance the well-being of farm animals worldwide.

You can find out more by visiting the Compassion In World Farming website.