Nigella Lawson: love or loathe?

Domestic goddess and innuendo queen Nigella Lawson is under scrutiny as we ponder what we love and loathe about her. Does she still reign supreme in the British culinary scene?

Loather: Joanne Procter

There are certain attributes that are practically synonymous with the name Nigella Lawson, such as perfect hosting, sensual language and improbable midnight escapades in the kitchen. Whilst all that makes for an admittedly amusing TV show, it also masks the fact that the food she puts together is just not that great. It isn’t creative, original or inspiring, but it is also not practical enough to throw together without hiring a private detective to track down the ingredients. Her recipes seem to fall into an impractical middle ground, where you end up spending a small fortune on an unexciting dish that doesn’t even remotely stand out from its cheaper equivalents. That is, if you even get as far as actually trying out her recipes, given that good food is probably not top of the list of reasons why most people watch Nigella.

Unlikely scenarios where Nigella finds herself craving a chocolate-coated treat whilst sporting a silk nightie, I can deal with. As long as it’s an interesting chocolate-coated treat worth my time and attention. That’s why, for as long as the food seems to be simply an afterthought to Nigella’s elaborate, slightly ridiculous scenes, I will continue to be frustrated by her dull, yet massively over-romanticised recipes.

Lover: Jessica Hardiman

I will admit that to say the woman could do no wrong would be perhaps inaccurate, but I would instead claim that Nigella can be forgiven. Her recent Italian-inspired recipes may have been criticised for a lack of authenticity, but no one can accuse her for lack of passion.  She never makes grandiose assertions that she is a chef, instead a self-proclaimed home cook seeking merely to indulge and comfort, assuring us that “the only thing anyone should feel guilty about is not taking pleasure.”

Aside from her gloriously gluttonous recipes and finger-licking, Lawson is also for me a latter-day Shakespeare. She writes her recipes with beautifully crafted elegance, utilising delicious hyperbole and alliteration to create culinary poetry. The enjoyment that she takes from food is translated into the playful verbiage she revels in, evident with her renaming of the classic spaghetti alla puttanesca as ‘Slut’s Spaghetti’. This combination of verbal mischief, decadance and splendour makes for perfect bedtime reading, and it is when I reach for her words that even the most sleepless of nights can be soothed.

Ultimately, I cannot find it within myself to hate a woman who agrees with me on the breast/thigh debate (chicken, that is), deeming thighs to be half the price with twice the flavour. I will therefore defend Nigella until death, even if some believe that her best days are behind her. We must merely gloss over the disappointment that was Nigellissima, and curl up in bed to reminisce on her better days. She taught us How to be a Domestic Goddess and she taught us How to Eat, and for this she must be remembered fondly.