Nigella finds foodie joy in Scots chippy
● Celebrity cook follows in the footsteps of Bieber
TV star Nigella Lawson has declared chips from a Glasgow takeaway to be the “perfect end” to her day in the city.
The chef was in Glasgow to attend the wedding of award-winning Scottish writer Andrew O’hagan.
She tweeted a picture of a miniature bottle of Buckfast tonic wine, with the caption “wedding breakfast Glasgow”. Later she posted a picture of the Blue Lagoon fish and chip shop which said: “Best chips, exquisitely vinegary, from the Blue Lagoon Glasgow.”
It is the kind of endorsement that will have Scotland’s chefs shaking their heads in dismay.
For they now have Nigella Lawson to thank for the nation’s reputation as a foodie destination taking a battering.
She lavished praise on a portion of chips from one of Glasgow’s most celebrated takeaways during a visit to the city.
Lawson, who had earlier attended the wedding of author Andrew O’hagan, described the late-night treat from the Blue Lagoon as “the perfect end to the perfect day”.
She posted a picture of one of the chain’s shops on her Twitter feed and told her 2.63 million followers that the chips bought for her by her sister were “exquisitely vinegary”.
The celebrity cook – the daughter of former Conservative chancellor Nigel Lawson – tweeted a picture of a miniature bottle of Buckfast tonic wine, with the caption “wedding breakfast Glasgow”.
Lawson and her sister had visited the Blue Lagoon just hours after it emerged that it was launching a new “sausage eclair delicacy”. Her endorsement triggered huge debate online over where the city’s best chips are to be found.
Camera Obscura singer Traceyanne Campbell told her: “No offence but next time go to Marino’s on Byers Road. Now that’s a fish supper.”
Will Mcgregor replied to Lawson’s tweet to tell her: “I feel so sad that you went to the blue lagoon.” He added: “If you are still in Glasgow hit up Jaconellis chip shop in Maryhill, get a tray of chips and gravy... out of this world.”
But another Twitter user, Social Butterfly, wrote: “Brilliant that Nigella is in Glasgow this weekend eating chips
from the Blue Lagoon, hinging about with the radge at Central Station and drinking Bucksecco. Absolute queen – give her the keys to the city.”
Lawson is the second major celebrity customer to emerge for the Blue Lagoon in less than two years after pop pinup Justin Bieber was spotted sampling deep fried haggis during a late-night visit. His visit even inspired leading singer-songwriter Find-
SIMONE VARESE
lay Napier to write a love song dedicated to the Blue Lagoon.
Bluelagoondirectorsimone Varese said: “It was really good to hear that she enjoyed her chips. It’s good to know that celebrities are choosing us when they want a chippy.
“We might look into dedicating a bag of chips to Nigella like we did with Justin Bieber and haggis.”
COMMENT
“We might look into dedicating a bag of chips to Nigella like we did with Justin Bieber and haggis”
She is the ultimate ambassador of eating for the sheer pleasure of it so it was hardly surprising when Nigella Lawson tweeted on Saturday night about the “exquisitely vinegary” bag of chips her sister had bought from a Glasgow takeaway.
Because few people take chips more seriously than we Scots, the writer and TV presenter was quickly bombarded with messages advising her she should try this chippy or that one. While the notion of Ms Lawson commencing a tour of the nation’s fish and chip shops is a perfectly pleasant one, we will mark the win down to Glasgow’s Blue Lagoon, from whence her chips came. As endorsements go, it is not a bad one.
We wonder, however, whether Ms Lawson realises the controversy her remarks may cause among true aficionados. “Exquisitely vinegary”, betrays a clear bias in favour of the west coast. Connoisseurs in the east may consider that one hasn’t truly enjoyed a bag of chips unless substantial quantities of salt and sauce have been applied. It might just have been a photo of a chip shop to some folk. To us, it was a reminder of yet another of Scotland’s great divides.