Not so long ago, Nigella Lawson lifted the lid on the mysterious art of baking the perfect cake.
“It’s one of the great culinary scams!” the TV personality opined with a trademark naughty wink.
“It implies effort. It implies domestic prowess… But believe me. It’s easy!”
Now the celebrated kitchen goddess is about to find out if home bakers around the globe agree. Nigella was recently announced as the new judge for TV show The Great British Bake Off – in which 12 contestants compete for the crown of Best Amateur Baker – stepping into the shoes of former judge Prue Leith, whose departing words were, “I’m 86 for goodness’ sake!”
Famous for her sensual appreciation of all things delicious, Nigella told fans she’s “giddily grateful” for the opportunity to pick up the baton (or is that the baguette?) and step into the famous white tent.
On the show, of course, the celebrity cook will be surrounded by friends and colleagues, spending each day sampling the contestants’ baked goods with her practised palate. But at home, Nigella confesses she usually eats alone – and loves it.
Cooking for one
“Eating for one at home means the only person you have to satisfy is yourself,” shares Nigella.
“You get to choose the meal, the location – I’m guilty of sofa eating – and, above all, the portion size. “This is a very bad thing to say because it shows how greedy I am. I have a sardine spaghetti recipe that is for two, but I actually often make that for myself.”
Neither does she draw the line at sofa eating.
“I’m very pro eating in bed,” she confesses.
“I will eat absolutely anything in bed except something that needs a knife and fork. It has to be either fingers or a spoon.”
A home between two hemispheres
Nigella’s couch and bed habits are not confined to her $11.5 million home in the upmarket London district of Chelsea. Somewhere along the way, Sydney, Australia, captured her heart, and she divides her time between Britain and Bondi Beach, although she hasn’t yet purchased a home there.
Just last year, she featured in an Aussie tourism ad with Robert Irwin, and has also served as a judge on My Kitchen Rules and MasterChef Australia. Finding a “home away from home” at the other end of the world – and now the chance to put her stamp on one of Britain’s favourite reality TV shows – is all part of the unexpected joys of late middle age.
Her thoughts on ageing
“Ageing is nearly always portrayed as a closing down of opportunities,” she reflects.
“But I now see the rest of my life as a great unfurling mystery. “For the past three decades, as I grew up, established my career, had children and so on, I pretty much knew what the shape of my life would be, day to day. Now I feel that anything could happen. “I do have to say that getting older is so much easier than being young. The two great enemies of happiness are self-consciousness and pressure to conform – and the older one gets, the easier it is to throw off those shackles.”
Making peace with ageing
It’s not that she no longer cares what people think of her – she just doesn’t care as much.
“Ageing happens whether we like it or not and to mind about it is so futile as to be a waste of energy,” she says.
“Denial has an unfairly bad reputation. I am quite happy to block out those signs of ageing that, were I to focus on them, would make me unhappy. “Why worry about being 60 when, in 10 years’ time, it will seem laughably young by comparison? And if I don’t get to see 70, then looking older will be the least of my troubles.”
Comfort over vanity
Neither does Nigella spend much time fretting about her waistline.
“I feel that you get to a certain age and your desire for comfort is much greater than your vanity,” she smiles.
“A lot of people in my family have died of cancer, and I don’t think you can witness that and equate thinness with health. “I don’t focus on what people say about me, even when I’m filming. I occasionally think, ‘Oh, why didn’t I hold my tummy in,’ but it doesn’t last. The shape of your body… that’s where the flesh settles, isn’t it? You can’t do an awful lot about that.”
