COOKERY queen Delia Smith has admitted she would like to see Ipswich Town in the Premiership.The Blues won the support from Delia, 62, after her beloved Norwich City secured a Premiership berth on Wednesday night.

COOKERY queen Delia Smith has admitted she would like to see Ipswich Town in the Premiership.

The Blues won the support from Delia, 62, after her beloved Norwich City secured a Premiership berth on Wednesday night.

Town will be looking to join their arch rivals in the top flight next season by reaching and then winning the First Division play-offs.

From her home near Stowmarket, Delia said: "I hope they make the play-offs and go all the way. It will be fantastic to have two East Anglian clubs in the Premiership.”

She added: "I wish Ipswich all the best - but I will be rooting for Norwich to carry on and win the Division One championship.

“Of course there's incredible rivalry between the two clubs but I think it would be lovely to have two East Anglian teams playing in the Premiership.”

Ipswich face a tougher time to gain a place in the Premiership compared to their Norfolk counterparts.

The news of Norwich's promotion was confirmed when third placed Sunderland were beaten 3-0 by Crystal Palace, meaning the Canaries would secure one of the two automatic promotion places.

Norwich joint majority shareholder Delia said: "It felt slightly peculiar being promoted from someone else's match because there wasn't any build-up like there would be for a play-off final - but I am not complaining.

"We were just sitting at the ground with a couple of thousand of fans waiting for the result from Sunderland to come through. Most of the stands were empty.

"But it was fantastic because we were with the supporters which is where we wanted to be. We were on the pitch celebrating for a couple of hours and it was midnight before we had a glass of champagne.”

The culinary queen, who has sold more than 15million cookery books, said the Canaries' achievement was "the best high of her life" and more of a thrill than anything else in her 35-year career creating Britain's favourite recipes.

She added: "There is nothing in cookery terms that can compare to this - nothing at all. I have had some big highs in my life in terms of cookery book sales and TV audiences - but nothing like the joy I feel now.

"There is a lot of pain and sorrow in football - but when the joy comes, it is a completely different experience. This is without doubt my biggest moment in football and perhaps the biggest moment in my life."

Delia and her husband Michael Wynn-Jones have been joint majority shareholders of Norwich City since 1996. The couple have sunk £7m of their estimated £24m fortune into the club, saving it from the brink of administration.

Off the pitch she has concentrated on turning the club's catering facilities into a thriving business. Norwich fans can now tuck into treats like chicken liver pate with cognac served with courgette and pepper pickle, or Latin American beef stew with saffron rice and marinated red onion salad.

Deeply religious Delia yesterdaysaid prayers giving thanks for the club's promotion during morning mass at her local Roman Catholic church in Stowmarket.

While Ipswich Town may not be relying on divine intervention, she said there was no secret recipe to her club's success.

“I think it is just down to hard work. We have enjoyed every minute of the hard work.”