FRESH RECIPE
Nigella Lawson tells Siobhan Duck why she’s excited to pull up a chair next to Manu Feildel on the revamped MyKitchenRules
THERE was a time during the Covid-19 pandemic’s harshest border closures that Nigella Lawson feared she may never get to see Australia again. After all, the queen of British cooking shows, dubbed the “Domestic Goddess” ever since the phrase appeared in the title of her second cookbook, speaks with clear fondness about the many trips she has made to our shores over the past 24 years.
So when the Seven Network offered Lawson the chance to join Manu Feildel as a judge on their long-running series My Kitchen Rules, she couldn’t wait to pack her bags and head Down Under.
“I missed it terribly, so being there for MKR felt like a blossoming of life,” Lawson says with her trademark cheer.
“I just feel so at home in Australia, and, at the same time, its beauty fi lls me with a sense of wonderment. Being in Australia feels like essential nourishment to me – speaking of which, I do have to say that one of the great joys of being in Australia for me is the fabulous food you have.”
Lawson replaces controversial chef Pete Evans, who had been Feildel’s co-host for 11 seasons, in a reboot that spotlights what contestants put on the plate rather than what they dish out in explosive arguments and salacious scandals.
“I can assure you that there’s nothing confected in MKR,” Lawson insists. “You just have to let it all unfold, however that may be. I absolutely agree with MKR’s decision to bring the focus back to the food, and that’s what made me so want to do it. But the contestants are humans, not automatons, so on occasion, of course, emotions will run high.”
Because she eschews scripts and prefers to just “talk away spontaneously” for the camera, Lawson says shooting MKR is akin to fi lming one of her own shows aside from being surrounded by a far bigger cast and crew.
“What was so very special about MKR is the sense of friends around the table, and it really does feel like that,” she says.
“And it’s that camaraderie, the feeling of all being part of a joint enterprise which comes out of a shared love of food, that is at the heart of MKR.”
Being a home cook and not a classically trained chef gives her a good understanding of what teams are going through, Lawson says. She also prefers home-style cooking to the sort of “fancy, fussy, frilly” fare common in high- end restaurants.
“Chefs are used to cooking for hundreds of people. I know how stressful it can be just to cook for 12, and that’s without the extra pressure of competition,” she adds with a laugh.
“And the thing is, you really bond with everyone making a show like MKR, so you feel all their worries and stress so personally. I tend to be quite a porous person anyway, picking up on people’s moods and undercurrents, and so there were times that I felt really quite anxious for a contestant.
But actually, they amazed me with their ability to contain the stress and concentrate on their cooking.”
While Lawson enjoys reality shows, she won’t watch anything with “even a hint of viciousness” because “I love seeing people gain confidence, learn and be allowed to flourish,” she says, adding that she didn’t re-watch any prior episodes ahead of filming MKR in order to keep things fresh.
“What matters is the food,” Lawson says, “and responding honestly and instinctively to it. I can only be myself, after all, and that meant not coming with preconceived notions or plans.”
MY KITCHEN RULES PREMIERES AT 7PM ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 7 ON THE SEVEN NETWORK