Despite being synonymous with late-night trips to the kitchen fridge for naughty slices of chocolate cake – all devoured with a cheeky wink or seductive smile to the camera – Nigella Lawson’s real life is far less indulgent.
WATCH: Nigella Lawson on MasterChef
“People think that I’m eating cakes all the time!” the British television cook and bestselling author tells New Idea, giggling. “I do love baking, but I wasn’t brought up with having puddings and dessert in the normal run of things and I don’t do it now.
“It just wouldn’t occur to me to make a dessert unless I’ve got people coming over, or maybe for Sunday lunch.”
Unsurprisingly, Nigella has been a longtime champion of the ‘anti-diet’.
“I don’t believe in exclusion or deprivation,” she explains. “If you deprive yourself of certain food stuffs then of course you’re going to overeat them, because you end up fixating on them.”
Back in Australia for the recent Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, Nigella is a regular visitor to our shores, where the local food scene “excites” her.
“What’s interesting about Australia is that it’s finding its own voice,” she enthuses. “Australian cuisine is similar to the Australian people … it’s very bold, direct and full of vitality.”
Buzz is building that Nigella might be returning Down Under to become a permanent judge on either MasterChef or the upcoming revival of My Kitchen Rules, but for now, she’s tight-lipped about the rumours.
Small-screen appearances aside, undoubtedly a talking point among audiences at the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival was Nigella’s age-defying appearance.
When quizzed on her beauty secrets, as with everything else in her life, simplicity is key.
“I don’t go in the sun and I drink a lot of water,” she says.
Other than these skin-saving tips (plus, “Don’t look in close-up mirrors – why would you do that to yourself?!”), Nigella is very matter-of-fact about the ageing process.
“You can’t get too stressed about it because it’s going to happen,” the mother of two says. “Sometimes I look at my hands and think: ‘Oh my God!’ But what are you going to do? It’s just life. Since you can’t change it, there’s no point in focusing on it too much.
WATCH: MasterChef: Nigella proves she’s the condiment queen (Article continues after video)
“When people make a big fuss about being young, I think: ‘You mustn’t do that, because it will change.’ I sometimes say to people who worry about being older: ‘Imagine you’re 10 years older looking back to now – you’ll wonder what you were worrying about!’”
At 62 though, Nigella acknowledges that the years have equipped her with life experience to take a pragmatic approach to the passing of time.
“My mother died at 48 and my sister died at 32, so to mind about getting older would be slightly odd,” she explains. “I’m much more concerned with my health and keeping mobile. It might sound corny, but if you’re well, then that really is the most important thing.”
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