NADIYA SPEAKS TO HEAT
The baking queen chats cakes, cats and everything in between
When we were introduced to Nadiya Hussain on the Bake Off back in 2015, we all went on an emotional journey with her, from her low moments all the way through to her inspiring victory. No one can forget hearing the Luton-born baker say, “I’m never gonna put boundaries on myself ever again. I’m never gonna say, ‘I can’t do it.’ I’m never gonna say ‘maybe’. I’m never gonna say, ‘I don’t think I can.’ I can and I will.” And our journey didn’t end there. As well as presenting her own TV cookery series, The Chronicles Of Nadiya, baking a cake for the Queen’s 90th birthday and writing a kids’ book, she provoked conversation around mental health with her documentary Anxiety And Me earlier this year. Now, we’re getting to step back in time with her as she tells stories of her life in new book Finding My
Voice. When we chat to the mum of three, she’s insistent that it’s not an autobiography. “The book was never intended for shock value,” she tells us. Nevertheless, there are some raw and revealing moments in it, which only go to show how far Nadiya, 34, has come. From discussing what it’s like to suffer with panic disorder, to mulling over the firmness of her husband’s thighs, she is disarmingly funny and we could talk to her for hours. Sadly, we’ve only got 45 minutes and the clock is ticking… Congrats on the book – how did you find the writing process? It was really hard. It takes a lot of brain power – and it’s the most writing I’ve done completely by myself. There were times when I thought, “I can’t do this.” And I had to just walk away. There are some very personal stories in there… As somebody who suffers with anxiety and PTSD, there are things in my life that have caused those things, and I’ve gone from telling nobody to telling everyone – and that’s a big
jump. There is nothing in there that should shock people, because these are things that are happening to people every single day, which is why we need to talk about them. As a child, I used to sit in the library, desperate to find a book that I could relate to and that I felt like I could be a part of – and there never was one. I feel like there are lots of Muslim girls, like me, from similar community backgrounds, that will pick up the book and say, “I get her.” And to be able to do that for just one girl, that’s a dream. Did you find the writing therapeutic? Yes. It was hard. You know when you get a lump in your throat that doesn’t let you keep going? I would say to myself, “Why are you writing this?” And my husband would say to me, “Why are you writing this? Remind yourself. Remember the stories that you want to tell, remember who you’re helping.” There are people who will recognise situations in the book and think, “I wish I’d said something, maybe this would have helped me to be a different person.” Or, “I could have shaped my life differently.” I really hope that people will read it and think, “Let’s talk about this…” Did you see Jesy Nelson’s recent documentary? Yes! Jesy’s documentary was really hard to watch. I got her. On a much smaller scale, of course, but I get her. Her face is something she can’t change, but she got criticised. I can’t change the fact that I’m brown, but I get criticised for being brown. It’s something that you can’t change, but you hate it all in the same breath, which is really hard. Nobody should hate themselves. People are definitely talking more, which means that people are more open to change. It can only lead to good things. In the book you tell the story of meeting your husband Abdal for the first time. What was your first impression? Oh my God – he had the best arse! Even to this day… He runs, so he has the best thighs. The year before last, on his birthday, I posted a picture of his thighs and said, “Let’s just appreciate these thighs, people.” We’re jealous. Anything else? There was something I learned about him in the first few weeks of getting married. He knows how much I love my family and most of all my little brother [Shakir, ten years Nadiya’s junior]. Just to make me happy, my husband saved for weeks to buy him this beautiful robot toy. We had nothing, no money, we were living on egg mayo sandwiches, constantly watching the gas meter, but he saved up and bought him this toy and said to me, “I bought this for Shak,” and I genuinely thought, “Oh my God, I might actually love this guy.” He did something for my brother, because he knew it would make me happy. For him, it was like, “I can’t actually make her happy, because we live [in Leeds] 160-something miles away from her family. She misses them, she loves them, what can I do?” How can you not love a man like that? And you pay him back now by giving him cake every day… For the last 14 years. How do you have time? I always bake, that’s not the problem. How does he eat cake every day? That is the question! What’s his favourite? This thing called peanut butter
stack, which is basically brownie on brownie on brownie on brownie, but sandwiched with crunchy peanut butter. Check this out, though – then it’s warmed in the microwave, and we drizzle melted chocolate over the top, then he puts a dollop of ice cream on the side and whipped cream. that sounds amazing. is it true you carry a spatula in your handbag? Yes, always. I’m not even joking, look… [Proceeds to get spatula out of bag.] Sometimes you can’t lift things or you need it to scrape worktops or things, and no one ever has one. I went to the American Embassy with this bloody thing in my bag, and security said, “Why do you have this?” and someone told them, “She’s a baker, it’s OK.” And I was like, “It’s still not normal to have a spatula in your handbag.” Do you have any guilty pleasures? I might have actually rediscovered one last night – I watched Keeping Up With The Kardashians. I’m watching it with our cat on one side and my ear to my husband’s office [which is next door] and I’ve got my hand on the control for the fear of being judged. It’s like when I used to watch Hollyoaks. My husband would be like, “What do you watch that rubbish for?” Your cat is a recent addition to the family. How’s it going? It is a bit like having a newborn. She’s a little bit mad. But she’s lovely. I used to have nine cats. nine! All at the same time? Yes! I had one, and then she had babies, and then one died, so I got a rescue cat, then she had some babies, so then I ended up with nine. I became the cat lady. I used to work night shifts, so I’d come home at about 7am and all nine would be sat on the wall, waiting for me. I’d feed them and then go upstairs and they’d all sleep on my bed. I still sleep like a pretzel because I’m used to having them at the bottom of my bed. what’s the perfect night in for you and the family? Bring all the blankets downstairs into the living room and fall asleep watching TV, eating snacks and popcorn. And the kids’ ideal is to be too tired to brush your teeth. But what we tend to do with the kids when we have a sleepover like that – it’s really bad – but we change the clocks to midnight and then we’ll get a Chinese or pizza, or something. We’ll wake them up like, “Guys, it’s midnight. Let’s have a midnight feast!” And then we make them have pizza at about 8:30pm and then we’ll say, “Let’s go back to bed.” I’m such a fraud. Do you have any food vices? Instant mash, with butter and mayonnaise. It will change your life. Rather than making it with water, make it partly with milk and put butter in it. Mix it up, then add mayo. I’m just saying do it. Season it, and then pour Heinz cream of tomato soup on top. Then grate some cheese on top. I dare you not to go and pick up some instant mash now. n
Finding My Voice (Headline Home, £20) is available to buy now
‘i used to have nine cats – i was the cat lady’