Delia, you will be missed

At 5.28pm on Friday an email was sent around to Norwich City Football Club staff, saying that - following last year's change of ownership - Delia will also be stepping away from the club's catering business.

The email read: "As part of the club changes following the recent ownership announcement, Delia has decided to step away from the day-to-day leadership of the club’s catering team. Everyone at the club thanks Delia, Lindsey and Michael for all of their hard work in building a catering function that we are all really proud of.

"The Delia's Canary Catering brand will be phased out over the coming weeks, with everyone supporting the transition to maintain the same high standards and quality that we have come to expect.

"There will be a club-wide catering function which will encompass the stadium, Avant Training Ground and Lotus Cars. Dan Savage will head up this new function as the club’s Head of Catering.

"As changes begin to happen, we are aware you may be asked questions, so we hope you find this information useful."

It was inevitable, of course. But it's hard not to feel that this, perhaps even more than the transfer of ownership, is it.

Gift to football

Delia is undeniably bigger than Norwich City. There will be people who own copies of her books who have no idea what she did with the money she made from them - and her food was her unique gift to football. The catering was what made Norwich City under her ownership different from any other club in the world and it brought a matriarchal quality to the job that any Italian club would have been proud of. Forgive me if my stomach and I get a little emotional: I love her sausage rolls and will use no other recipe. It has been the reason to plant sage bushes at two of my homes.

But quite apart from the conflict of interest that my love of her sausage rolls involves, I also have a confession to make. I worked for Delia a few months back, as a casual member of the Delia's Canary Catering staff. It was a part-time job for me when I arrived back in Norwich after 30 years away, head still spinning from the move.

And I quickly found that I loved it. It was exactly what I needed to make me properly appreciate that I was back in the city where I grew up. Everything about it was enjoyable. I found that I loved my colleagues, I loved the excitement of match days, I loved the smart black apron with Delia's Canary Catering written on it and the shirt with the crisp white collar that went underneath it. I loved hearing what was on the menu from the chef and the neat stacks of Delia's books that were in the various kitchens around the stadium - several of which I also have at home.

My match-day waitressing slot was in the south stand corporate boxes, where there was epic exposure to the match build-up and I could see snatches of the game while clearing tables and setting up drinks. It was fascinating to see which local business people brought their families and clients to the stadium, how well they all brushed up and how their financial success was reinvested in their home team, which is a business lesson in itself. If you watched for long enough - which is easy to do if you stand there holding a bottle opener and looking useful - anyone who was anyone in Norfolk (and beyond) would hove into view.

Stories to tell from the alcohol-fuelled events? Well, I got tipped by a tipsy Angela Harnett when she and her husband Neil came for Hogmanay. "Divvy this up among the girls," she said, leaving me with a crumpled note, feeling appreciative but wondering how that would work exactly? There was the festive event where someone tried - much to the amusement of the security staff - to steal a fully decorated tree. "Good evening, sir. Do you have permission for that Christmas tree?" they inquired straight-faced as he tried to smuggle the four-footer out under his jacket. Turned out he was drunk enough to think the answer could be "yes".

There was the - unsubstantiated - rumour that one of the disabled toilets had become blocked by a bag of cocaine at an especially boisterous festive knees-up. (So many questions but probably the least said the better...) And there were the two macho teachers from one of Norwich's most prestigious schools who finished an evening (during which their students had distinguished themselves by being super grown-up) by horizontally wrestling each other on the dance floor. A lesson in the classics perhaps?

The Delia effect

I learned that I wasn't the only one who loved Delia's sausage rolls. Their appearance on the menu at corporate functions were a proper conversation starter. Among the largely female organisers of these events, Delia was often the reason for choosing Carrow Road's conference facilities, making it the crossroads of Norwich's economy. The sausage rolls, a recipe Delia learned from her mother, Etty, would produce squeals of delight from these capable, well-organised women whose decades of cultural knowledge informed their decisions.

I also sometimes worked in Delia's fine-dining restaurant. And, when I heard that Delia was retiring from the catering operation, I have to admit that this is where my thoughts flew. Because that particular theatre of food is unique - and if you've never eaten there you've missed a treat.

Sorry to sound a bit advert-y. But for a delicious, uniquely English meal and friendly fine-dining, it was/is remarkable. Delia was there herself about once a month, eating with family, friends and potential business partners and then setting off gamely around the dining room to chat to the delighted guests. I couldn't believe it was only open on Fridays and Saturdays - but having been back in Norwich for longer now and feeling the rhythm of the city a little better, I can see the logic.

The reverse-Delia effect

So I guess Friday's announcement means the end of Delia's restaurant, unless there's some kind of branding agreement in the offing? I've put in calls to the club but answer came there none...

Which would be a shame. Because - and I say this without fear of contradiction - until you have eaten Delia's marmalade bread and butter pudding in a fine dining setting you haven't lived.

Supermarkets have long understood the power of Delia's economic impact.

Sadly, Norwich and its region are about to experience the reverse-Delia effect.

Delia, you (and your sausage rolls) will always have this Norwich girl's heart. Enjoy your retirement, boss.

• Please get in touch on emma@24hourlondon.co.uk if you have a tip, story idea or would just like to reminisce about delicious morsels you've eaten at Carrow Road.