Why Nigella’s lonely this Christmas
Nigella Lawson may be known as the culinary queen of Christmas, but there’s more to her than festive fayre – including her secret heartache…
We’re used to Nigella Lawson talking about Christmas food, but here – for a change – the glamorous TV chef talks about much more. Nigella, 58, who is celebrating the relaunch of her first cook book 20 years on and preparing for a UK tour, has a wicked sense of humour and is deliciously honest about just about everything – as we discovered at a lively Standard Issue: In Conversation event with her recently…
On what she’s up to...
My first cookbook, How To Eat: The Pleasures And Principles Of Good Food, came out 20 years ago, and they [publisher Vintage Classics] have reissued it, which is very exciting. And I’ve also been on a theatrical tour, prancing about and treading the boards at theatres across the UK, in A Night With Nigella. It’s all about food and the part it plays in our lives, among other things.
On growing older and going to bed early...
I know people say they’re not frightened about growing old, but I do feel that, in a way, anxieties can increase as you get older. But what I do like a lot about it is that you can go to bed early and just not feel embarrassed about it. I am like, ‘ When can I lie down next?!’ I would very happily go to bed at 7.30pm. I don’t go to sleep, though – I read. I don’t do much, but I need to be lying down. That is a wonderful state to be in. When you’re younger, people think you shouldn’t be that person who
‘I am very bad at other people’s noise pollution. I do a lot of turning around and glaring’
likes going to bed early and should be staying out late, but I don’t mind that now.
On inappropriate laughter...
Once you get the giggles it’s very difficult to stop. It’s laughter that is quite dangerous, as you can veer downhill very quickly. Inappropriate giggling marred my childhood. I was always getting told off for it.
On how she hates people using their mobile phones in public...
What especially annoys me are those people who watch videos on their phones behind you and you can hear the noise coming out. I am very bad at tolerating other people’s noise pollution. I do a lot of turning around and glaring. That is something my grandmother would have done and it would have really embarrassed me. It’s that sort of thing – not minding about the grumpy old woman I seem to have become. I saw this woman and she was speaking on FaceTime to her husband and son, who were lying in bed. Actually, moaning is something I do very, very well. I don’t have many talents, but moaning is one of them.
On what she wanted to be as a child...
When I was little, I wanted to be a cat. I have no idea why, but I do remember crawling around rubbing my head against people’s knees! Then, later on, I wanted to be a writer. I was very precocious. Aged nine, I wrote a play in my pink exercise book about two terrapins on a train, one called Recreation and one called Activity, who discussed the meaning of life. Good job I didn’t go any further with that, really…
On how she winds down...
I can’t say it’s one of my specialities, relaxing. Eating, maybe. If I’ve been working really hard, I stagger over to the fridge and start picking at things even before I’ve started cooking. I do like cooking, nothing elaborate. I like chopping a carrot or stirring something mindlessly. It makes me calmer. Generally speaking, though, I go straight from being quite hyped up to falling flat on the floor. I am either hyper or comatose. I really don’t have a middle way…