The Nigella Lawson Masterclass At The Melbourne Food & Wine Festival!

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The Domestic Goddess herself Nigella Lawson

“I am completely ill equipped to give a masterclass” says that familiar voice. The disarmingly modest Nigella Lawson aka the Domestic Goddess enters the room. Everyone is atwitter and there is excitement in the air. Nigella’s Masterclass, a coup for the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival and over a year in the planning comes at the end of a long day on the last weekend of the festival. For many it is the highlight of the 10 days with many travelling from all over Australia, myself included. I’m lucky enough to nab myself a seat in the front row with Nigella only metres away. Forget the haute couture front row, this is much better!

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By way of explanation of her first point she explains that “I lurched into food by mistake”. She’s chatty and very funny and starts with an introduction promising “I will start cooking” but of course no one cares. She could recite a shopping list and everyone in the room would be riveted. Wearing a fitting black dress, her signature cropped cardigan in royal blue and  black and white striped kitten heels with bright red toe nails (I had to look, I wanted to see whether she cooked in Choos) she then changes to cook wearing leather thongs. She looks every inch as amazing as she does on television but still remains not excessively made up or overdone.

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She starts off explaining that she is a cook, not a chef which is an important distinction and that for this Masterclass she will be cooking recipes from the women that she loves. These women are her friend and “cooking mother” Anna Del Conte, her mother and her grandmother. She illustrates the difference between a home cook and a chef using a quote from Gordon Ramsay where he says that to work in a restaurant kitchen everything has to look the same coming out. She tells us that because of this she could never be a chef because at home things don’t all look the same. Recipes evolve and change all the time and sometimes things get tweaked according to mood or want and she likes cooking that gives you the freedom to fiddle about.

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There is a classic Nigella moment when she says “I like a bit of brutality in the kitchen” with that gleam in her eye and she leans onto a raw, whole chicken to flatten it slightly to make it easier to cook. Food is about legacy and passing recipes on and along with recipes traits or style are passed on. She amuses everyone with a story of a woman who made a pot roast and to start she would cut off both ends of the pot roast. When asked why she did this she answered that it was what her own mother had always done so she did it. When they asked her mother why she had done it she said that that was her mother had done. When they asked the grandmother why she had done it she said that the reason whys he did it was because her pot was too small to fit the pot roast!

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After browning the chicken she places it in a pot to boil along with celery, carrots which brings us to carrot coins. “I find circles of carrots make me depressed” she says citing school meals with carrot circles as the possible cause “But by all means if carrots don’t make you depressed, use them… If you had to be an expert to cook, the human race wouldn’t exist.”

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She adds herbs to the pot and suggests adding the ends of the parsley stalks which you buy wrapped in a rubber band to keep them together admitting that the rubber band “is a bit Bridget Jones”. This chicken dish was a dish that her mother made and her mother’s influence can certainly be felt (she always looks just like her mother). She feels that now she takes after her mother as a cook rather than her grandmother who was a more anxious cook. Her mother used to always say to her and her siblings “Stretch don’t ask” so that the children wouldn’t interrupt the dinner conversation by asking for someone to pass them something from the table.

Nigella’s family with her mother Vanessa Salmon

Despite preconceptions, she is happy to have people shout out questions saying “I’m a politicians daughter, so heckling and all forms of abuse, I can take it!”. Her famous father is Nigel Lawson whom she was named after who was the Chancellor of the Exchequer under Margaret Thatcher.

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She proceeds to pour salt into the pot with the chicken and feels that salt is a maligned item particularly if you don’t eat much processed food with hidden salt. Suddenly a glass bowl across the room shatters apropros of nothing and she quips ” My powers!”

Onto the next dish, a most intriguing Vegemite spaghetti (and yes you had better believe I’ll be making this!). It comes from Anna del Conte who she calls her “cooking mother”. She adds some spaghetti, and a little messily it is a relief to see, and thinking that she has splashed someone in the front row apologises to them. “My children know to stand right back.”

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She describes Vegemite as intensely savoury and exemplifies what the Japanese call “unami” which is a fifth taste sense which is usually associated with meats. To the pan she adds butter and some boot polish aka Vegemite and then the pasta and grates over some parmesan and voila, it is done!

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Alistair McLeod asks her the difference between Vegemite and Marmite and she says that nowadays it’s more textural. Marmite is gloss whereas Vegemite is matte and Marmite is now less strong than it used to be although you an buy a strong version which she does. And she doesn’t quite understand why people, apart from nationalistic loyalty prefer one over another. She confesses “I feel like a traitor now that I’ve moved over to Vegemite”.

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She pauses and spying the remaining butter in the glass picks it up and pops it into the sauce “It’s winking at me I cant resist it!” she says and everyone laughs at another classic Nigella moment. She tells us that she likes it when people tweak her recipes. It starts a conversation and she invites any of us to tell her when they’ve revised one of her recipes.

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Back to the chicken. This, she says, is a very Lawson family dish. This is the dish that she cooked her brother on his last day as a single man and it’s a dish she makes for sibling gatherings. “I didn’t want to make it for anyone outside of the family because I didn’t know if it was our own food vocab.” She shows us some bunches of herbs in a vase and tells us how her mother used to use fruit and vegetables to decorate the table as they would be a practical and visually lovely looking centrepiece.

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The last item that she will make today is the coffee and walnut cake. Although it comes from her grandmother she never ever made it but they always ate it for tea when they visited so it reminds her of her grandmother. Nigella loves baking because “people think you’ve performed some kind of miracle… Since I cant show you mastery I can give you the benefits of impatience and laziness.” The crowd love the self deprecating manner and the slight fumbles. She proceeds to tear off some baking paper trying to make a circle instead tearing off a crumpled square. She sighs and says “Oh look at that” as the camera points at a rather sorry looking square shaped crumpled piece of baking paper and the audience loves it. She then drops a piece and says “That’s the one second rule!” gaily. When she forgets something she apologises saying “Sorry I’m getting on a bit!” This audience is wrapped around her finger.

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She makes the cake batter in the food processor and the only reason is because she wants to avoid making more to washing up as she will also do the icing in  it which earns her a round of applause. “I cook in a shambolic fashion…I try not to add enormously to the washing up”. When the time comes to making the icing she  professes to loathe sifting (ugh, me too!). “It’s just too boring ” she says so she makes icing in the food processor to whiz out the lumps. When asked whether she listens to music when she is cooking she answers in the negative saying that “I find silence rather hard to come by…”

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She brushes off some icing from her eyebrow and apologises for cooking with her hair in her face saying “My whole life I’ve eaten food with my mother’s hair in it.” She then finishes off the cake by spreading the icing like a bricklayer and tops the cake with walnut halves. When an audience member asks to lick the spatula she  gently tells them that she would let them but health and safety concerns means that they aren’t insured to let people taste things and then cheekily adds “If you died, imagine how awful that would be…for me!”

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The show is coming to a close and it still feels like we’ve just started. We had managed to hear our share of Nigellaisms such as “One of the best things about life is that you can eat more than one dessert!”  While in Melbourne she tells us of eating some delicious son in law eggs at Ginger Boy as a recent favourite and exclaims “How on earth can deep fried be wrong?”

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Finally there is a Q&A with the audience including one prize winner who was flown to this event and excitedly gets to ask Nigella two questions. Her latest obsessions is ice cream and in fact she looked at purchasing a very expensive ice cream machine on ebay and almost ended up buying an ice cream van. “I wish I were making this up!” she says.

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The session ends off with an auction off for the Breast Cancer Association for a Nigella signed Kitchenaid mixer with accessories. Prices go up to $2,000 with two men bidding against each other. Matt Preston who is the moderator (although he mostly kept silent, who would interrupt her?), asks Kitchenaid if they will give away two and they can then give one each to the men and they agree. When Nigella asks them “What colour do you want?” one man answers “What colour do you want me to have?”

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She finishes off the session with a short book signing in the theatre before she signs outside the theatre. And as I leave I spot a female fan (it wasn’t me!) getting overcome with emotion and teary at the sight of being so close to The Domestic Goddess herself.

So tell me Dear Reader, who would send you teary eyed and excited?

nigella lawson mfwf

NQN travelled to and explored the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival as a guest of the festival and Tourism Victoria

Theatre of Ideas at the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival

Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, 2 Clarendon Street South Wharf, Melbourne

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95 Comments | Add your own

  • 1. Ellie@fitforthesoul | March 14th, 2011 at 5:23 am | #

    She really sounds down to earth! You don’t see that often these days, eh? :) haha, I like the quote of ‘human race not existing if we were all professionals’ I still have hope :P

  • 2. snooky doodle | March 14th, 2011 at 5:51 am | #

    Oh what a nice post. I really like Nigella too and I find her amazing. I owe 2 of her books and shortly they ll be 5 when I find some shelf space :) thanks for the nice read.

  • 3. cityhippyfarmgirl | March 14th, 2011 at 6:05 am | #

    I’m not sure I would have been teary eyed, but excited yes to see Nigella in action!
    Great post.

  • 4. Karen | March 14th, 2011 at 6:13 am | #

    Oh my God. She is just FAB-U-LOUS. We all want to know if you rushed up to her and said “I’m Not Quite Nigella!” Do tell!

    I have a friend who says she’d turn gay for Nigella, and I reckon I’m starting to see why.

    As for me, I think I’d be a blubbering mess if Meryl Streep walked into the room.

  • 5. The Food Mentalist | March 14th, 2011 at 6:40 am | #

    She sounds delightful! Vegemite pasta sounds interesting and I love the bit about hair in food. She sounds so funny and down to earth- love it!
    I think seeing her would have got me teary eyed and excited

  • 6. Maria @ Scandifoodie | March 14th, 2011 at 6:41 am | #

    Great post! Thanks for sharing :-)

  • 7. Zina @ tastedbytwo | March 14th, 2011 at 7:08 am | #

    I have waited for this post for a very long time! What an amazing and inspiring woman. I wonder how many men were in the audience? :P

  • 8. Bubble and Sweet | March 14th, 2011 at 7:39 am | #

    She sounds adorable, I’m not a fan which is probably only because I don’t really watch TV (always on ABC Kids), otherwise I am sure she would win me over.

  • 9. muppy | March 14th, 2011 at 7:51 am | #

    Haha, sounds like she didn’t let everyone down, her nature would be impossible to dislike! I have cooked her mothers praised chicken, and spotted her vegemite spaghetti in Kitchen but I really hate vegemite and although my daughter would love it I haven’t yet brought myself to cook it ;)

  • 10. Laura | March 14th, 2011 at 7:51 am | #

    wow!
    Sounds like she was Nigella to a T! Love all the quotes from her.
    I’ll be trying the vegemite pasta, must be her simplest recipe ever.

  • 11. Sydney Shop Girl | March 14th, 2011 at 8:21 am | #

    Oh Lorraine!

    Up so close to Nigella. And vegemite possessing unami!

    Thank you for sharing this with us all.

    SSG xxx

  • 12. Mel | March 14th, 2011 at 8:58 am | #

    What a lovely account of your time at the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival!! As I could not make it, it was wonderful just to read about it!!The person how would make me weak at the knees would be Sarah Jessica Parker, I know I’m a walking cliché S&C fan! But hey, what’s life without your little passions. Love your work!

  • 13. Minou | March 14th, 2011 at 9:15 am | #

    She’s so charismatic and charming. I can totally relate to her cooking style…and that vegamite pasta needs to be tried!

  • 14. Nato | March 14th, 2011 at 9:18 am | #

    All honesty, she is good, however your food and blogging is more inspiring.. I’d rather the male version of Nigella as well… Mr. Nigel Slater.

  • 15. Jennifer (Delicieux) | March 14th, 2011 at 9:20 am | #

    I don’t think I would get teary eyed, but I certainly would be excited to meet Nigella. I love her and her enthusiasm for food! I am SO jealous I couldn’t be there!

  • 16. gastronomygal | March 14th, 2011 at 9:25 am | #

    Score! Front row. I bet the woman getting teary was Digella from Digella’s Emporium!

  • 17. Dzintra | March 14th, 2011 at 9:26 am | #

    hi lorraine fancy being so close to the domestic goddess herself…i wouldv’e loved to have been there…fabulous fabulous post…dzintra

  • 18. deana | March 14th, 2011 at 9:28 am | #

    As you are Not Quite Nigella… did you get to meet with her one on one??? That would be too much fun. I love her sprezzatura… she just has such an easy confidence about her.

    You feel if the room were on fire she wouldn’t break a sweat or miss a beat with a joke. Gotta love that. Personally, I love the crack about hair in the food. As a St Bernard owner and long haired girl… I took it to heart when someone at the Westminster Dog show said dog hair was a condiment in their house.

    With the right attitude even a normally horrid faux pas is delightful… and isn’t that the secret of great entertaining?

  • 19. Anne | March 14th, 2011 at 9:31 am | #

    It’s so funny that you said ‘forget the haute couture front row, this is much better!’. your passion…and Nigella’s…is wonderful. it makes your blog so much fun to read and get totally into. thank you, Lorraine. I think Nigella would get me psyched…but Anthony Bourdain even more.

  • 20. Heavenly Housewife | March 14th, 2011 at 9:32 am | #

    Guess what? I actually did see Nigella in person. When I went to NY this year, my friend and I saw her at Eataly, Mario Batali’s Italian superstore. She was eating and we tried to get a table next to her. We were a few seats away. We ogled for quite a while. I was surprised how she goes out all dolled up, just like she is on TV. She really looked pretty. She was wearing Louboutins I remember.
    *Kisses* HH

  • 21. ck | March 14th, 2011 at 9:32 am | #

    Was really looking forward to reading this and was not disappointed. Love the ‘what colour do you want me to have’ line! I don’t think any celebrity would make me teary though. New born babies of good friends do as did sharing an 82 Grange with my Dad with a meal appropriate for the occasion!

  • 22. Julia @ Mélanger | March 14th, 2011 at 9:34 am | #

    Wow, Lorraine, I feel like I was almost there with your great recap. Lucky you!

    Who would get me excited? Hmmmm, this is probably clichéd, but I’d have to say the late Julia Child.

    She broke new ground. She ventured into territory no one had been before. She was gutsy and determined. She never gave up. A true pioneer.

  • 23. Anna Johnston | March 14th, 2011 at 10:05 am | #

    Lorraine, I think that’s the best post you’ve done, really… it was awesome. What a character Nigella is huh & I love her definition of Cook & Chef, I couldn’t agree more in fact as a Chef, I’ve never wanted to be a Cook more & hope there’s still plenty of tweeking in me ;) Well done & thank you for such an entertaining read, you’ve captured her thing so fabulously :)

  • 24. Corrie | March 14th, 2011 at 10:08 am | #

    Thank you for master class coverage. Just as good as being there.
    My favourite person ever – it would actually be Nigella.
    My partner is a avid art lover and big fan of Charles Saatchi. Our running joke is that our dream dinner party guests would be Mr and Mrs Saatchi

  • 25. Christine | March 14th, 2011 at 10:08 am | #

    ahhhhhhhh!! i can’t believe you got to see Nigella!!! that is soo cool. i was watching all her DVDs on the weekend – just loove her! so awesome!!

  • 26. Heidi | March 14th, 2011 at 10:10 am | #

    Oh my, I savoured every word of this. I wish I was there too. I adore Nigella. Absolutely adore her. Although Jamie Oliver would get me the most excited and giddy. I probably could have cried with happiness listening to Nigella too, though – I so admire her. She is so endearing.
    Heidi xo

  • 27. kim sisto robinson | March 14th, 2011 at 10:11 am | #

    ~~Nigella is one of my all-time-favorites. I looooooooove how descriptive she is when she talks about the food…Like Bronte or Keats. Her words flow flawlessly & effortlessly….Who would I get teary eyes about? Um, nobody who is alive…probably some of the dead poets…. like Plath or Sexton. xxx Great Post, L.

  • 28. barbara | March 14th, 2011 at 10:11 am | #

    Nice recap of the event Lorraine. Thanks for sharing.

  • 29. Poppy Seed Baby | March 14th, 2011 at 10:14 am | #

    Great coverage Lorraine! How exciting! Can’t wait to hear you chat about this in person ;)

  • 30. Granville | March 14th, 2011 at 10:22 am | #

    She might have had me teary-eyed if she had come up to Oxford (University, that is) about ten years earlier!

  • 31. Liss | March 14th, 2011 at 10:23 am | #

    Good lord I had my heart in my throat reading that. I was waiting for the bit where YOU asked a question and MET HER. TELL ME YOU MET HER!!!!??

  • 32. joy | March 14th, 2011 at 10:33 am | #

    Hoped to see a photo
    of N and NQN?!

    :(

  • 33. Elizabeth | March 14th, 2011 at 10:36 am | #

    Actually Nigella made me teary eyed when I went to her book signing at QVB in 2008! I was so overwhelmed I totally lost my S#$t! SO unlike me ;)
    Hopefully today when I go to her lunch at Darling Harbour I manage to hold myself together, fingers crossed!

  • 34. Glenda | March 14th, 2011 at 10:44 am | #

    Very, very envious – I love Nigella’s enthusiasm, not to mention her command of the English language. She is also not afraid to’fess up about short cuts which any mother and home cook can really relate to.

    I thoroughly enjoyed your post – been waiting with anticipation and was not disappointed.

  • 35. Clare | March 14th, 2011 at 10:47 am | #

    Oh that sounds so fun! I admire, but am not a massive fan of, Nigella, but that really does sound so, so fun.

    My mum is FAMOUS for making a rolled pavlova for any ‘bring a plate’ events, and I’m too scared to compete with the roll, but want to carry on the tradition of our family = pavlova, so I now make Nigella’s chocolate pavlova instead. It is the most delicious pav base I’ve ever had.

  • 36. Tracey@CentCoast Sea | March 14th, 2011 at 10:48 am | #

    Lorraine this is just a wonderful post and with photos of Nigella in her rubenesque glory. I hope you did get a chance to meet her too..photos of that soon please.

    It is so lovely to see someone as unaffected by fame as Nigella.

  • 37. InTolerantChef | March 14th, 2011 at 10:50 am | #

    How nice to see that’s she’s just as real as the rest of us. Some of the big names are too full of themselves to care about anyone else.
    What a lovely wander through her food memories you all had, lucky ducks!
    Are you seeing Heston in Sydney tomorrow too?

  • 38. OohLookBel | March 14th, 2011 at 11:06 am | #

    Gosh, I have a girl crush on Nigella! Sounds like lots of other people do as well. Are you going to her book signing at DJs this week?

  • 39. Carolyn Jung | March 14th, 2011 at 11:25 am | #

    Wow, so cosmic to have Not Quite Nigella AND Nigella in the very same room. I love her. I don’t think there’s been anyone with that kind of charisma since Julia Child.

  • 40. Katie | March 14th, 2011 at 11:28 am | #

    It would have been funny if you’d met her and she’d ask you what your name was and you’d say, “Well, I’m Not Quite Nigella”. I’m sure she’d be thoroughly confused and intrigued!

    I saw Jamie Oliver live and so many women in the audience were crying and screaming and jumping up and down like he was one of the Beatles – it was crazy! I don’t think I’d get teary over any famous person – it takes a lot for me to get emotional!

  • 41. catty | March 14th, 2011 at 11:30 am | #

    how INSANELY exciting this must have been for you!!! But I’m disappointed she kicks off her heels to cook hehehehe..

  • 42. At Anna's Kitchen Ta | March 14th, 2011 at 11:49 am | #

    Thank you so much for posting! I enjoyed reading this, it was almost as if I could hear Nigella herself!

  • 43. Barbara Bakes | March 14th, 2011 at 12:01 pm | #

    I’m sort of new to the Nigella fan club, but the few times I’ve caught her on The Today Show she was so charming I couldn’t help but love her. It sounds like a fabulous class. I would be teary and excited to meet you of course. xoxo Mum

  • 44. Amanda | March 14th, 2011 at 12:15 pm | #

    It sounds like you had a very exciting time of it. And it is good to see someone who is so grounded about cooking.

  • 45. Lau@corridorkitchen | March 14th, 2011 at 12:20 pm | #

    I’ve been hanging out for this post. Must have been awesome to see your namesake work her magic I especially loved this bit:

    ‘She brushes off some icing from her eyebrow and apologises for cooking with her hair in her face saying “My whole life I’ve eaten food with my mother’s hair in it.’

    I am a Nigella fan for sure. I love her down-to-earth, practical, add-butter-to-everything cooking style.

  • 46. Swee San | March 14th, 2011 at 12:31 pm | #

    i’d not go teary eyed but oh so damn excited!!!

  • 47. June | March 14th, 2011 at 1:00 pm | #

    I didn’t exactly get teary-eyed, but my heart was pounding in my ears when I met the hottie Anthony Bourdain- yum,yum. The pictures we got of my daughter on one side of him and me on the other are priceless to me. I love watching Nigella in the kitchen- and I am pretty sure that it was a search for one of her recipes that led me to YOUR blog, so happy happy!

  • 48. Hannah | March 14th, 2011 at 1:14 pm | #

    Ellen Degeneres, maybe! :P

    Please please recreate the vegemite spaghetti! I’ve actually imagined whether that was possible before (usually while eating grilled cheese on vegemite toast), so am thrilled to know it is :)

    P.S. I wish I had some Jimmy Choos I could cook in! :P

  • 49. Min {Honest Vanilla} | March 14th, 2011 at 1:49 pm | #

    Lucky lucky you! :) ) She’s gorgeous and very funny! Looking forward to your Vegemite spaghetti

  • 50. EHA | March 14th, 2011 at 1:50 pm | #

    Since the quacks have kept me ‘busy’ all morning in a most unpleasant way, have the pleasure of reading not only your column but so many blogs written ere me.

    Am not buttering you up but, to me, at this stage, NQN IS more interesting to read than the original one would be to watch! The lady’s session was most pleasant – I’m very glad I’ve had the opportunity to be there second-hand. Huge thanks!

    Don’t believe anyone would make me cry or swoon, but I would be immensely pleased to be present when Kylie Kwong cooks. I love her ethics and morality, the simplicity of her methods, her thorough knowledge of regional Chinese cuisine/fusion cooking and the obvious joy she receives from the culture of food.

  • 51. Shemyla | March 14th, 2011 at 1:54 pm | #

    How THOROUGHLY exciting!!! Lucky are those who got to see Nigella lawson herself

  • 52. food.4.two | March 14th, 2011 at 1:56 pm | #

    I’m jealous! I love Nigella, she’s so gorgeous :)

  • 53. 5 Star Foodie | March 14th, 2011 at 2:16 pm | #

    A very exciting masterclass with Nigella, thanks so much for sharing your experience with us!

  • 54. Johanna GGG | March 14th, 2011 at 2:33 pm | #

    Priceless! Reading this post is almost as good as being there – just loved hearing her banter and her down to earth habits like hair in her face and avoiding making dishes or sifting – what a woman!

  • 55. EHA | March 14th, 2011 at 3:04 pm | #

    Since my computer did not want to talk to your computer earlier today, have left a brief ‘message’ on Facebook.

    I have cried too much in my life – no more – but I would be thrilled to be in the presence of Kylie Kwong cooking. I like her ethics and morality, love her knowledge of regional Chinese cuisine and the fusion bits and I adore her clear message of how large a part of culture the food and wine we consume plays in it.

    Am I TOO cross-fusional? – have any of you the bloggers been part of the ‘punch-up’ on MC/Junior MC this pm? Glad I look up NQN first every morning!!!

  • 56. Moodie Foodie | March 14th, 2011 at 4:02 pm | #

    I don’t usually go in for the celebrity thing, but having met Nigella at the Food and Wine Festival yesterday I was a little awe-struck. She is very gracious and incredibly beautiful. I’m not sure I heard anything she said to me because as I said, I was awe-struck. Who would have thought……

    Rachel Allen was also fantastic but in a completely different way – almost like your best friend. Fantastic weekend, can’t wait for next year.

  • 57. Chanel | March 14th, 2011 at 4:11 pm | #

    So, did you meet?? :)

    I’ve been waiting for this post, and it is fabulous! I absolutely love the way Nigella writes and speaks, so enchanting.

    I was VERY excited seeing Jamie Oliver live at Centennial Park, and when I met Pete Evans I got so nervous my hands were shaking – very embarrassing! ;)

  • 58. Debra Kolkka | March 14th, 2011 at 5:11 pm | #

    What a great post, thanks. It sounds like great fun. I wish I had been there.

  • 59. Sian | March 14th, 2011 at 5:16 pm | #

    I love Nigella. she is the epitome of elegance, sweetness and charm. She would definitely be on my dinner party wish list – mostly because she’d adore everything that was put in front of her but also she’d be a very gracious guest.

    I think I’d like to meet Gary Mehigan. I’ve been watching good chef bad chef on Foxtel recently and he’s such a cheeky monkey – I’d love to watch him cook.

  • 60. Jasmin | March 14th, 2011 at 5:42 pm | #

    I was curious to how the meeting of The Nigella and The Not Quite Nigella might go, I’m so envious. I adore Nigella and Matt Preston. I think this may have been my dream foodie event.

  • 61. Anne | March 14th, 2011 at 6:00 pm | #

    Great article, I love Nigella and might get a bit emotional in close proximity to her.

  • 62. R&H | March 14th, 2011 at 6:09 pm | #

    She is simply stunning in real life isn’t she? (Sigh) Her session sounds amazing! Wish I had the chance to see it!

  • 63. Michelle Chin | March 14th, 2011 at 7:42 pm | #

    BOVRIL!!!!

  • 64. Mrs Bok | March 14th, 2011 at 9:00 pm | #

    THANK YOU for posting this! I looooove Nigella. Sigh. Wish I could have gone to see her! Great post I love that you wrote about everything so that we didn’t miss out! :)

  • 65. Vintage Macaroon | March 14th, 2011 at 9:24 pm | #

    I once followed Nigella and her father for a while in Liberty’s when they were Christmas shopping (yes,silent stalker) but I was mesmerised she has an amazing presence.
    I have been lucky enough to meet some great chefs, including Rene Redzepi who certainly provides some excitement with the ladies. I was honoured to meet Adria Ferran last year. Even though I think his time at the top has passed he has influenced many great chefs (8 out the worlds top 10 restaurant chefs have been through his kitchen). His hero is Michel Bras…….I would be in tears if I met him.

  • 66. JasmyneTea | March 14th, 2011 at 9:33 pm | #

    Nigella Lawson is such a sexbomb! I’d LOVE to meet her :) I go a little nuts for my musical icons – When I saw Amy Lee live I cried like a baby, lol.

  • 67. Jenni | March 14th, 2011 at 10:07 pm | #

    I love Nigella. I have all her cook books and love them, love them, love them. However meeting Geoff Janz would make my heart flutter. My hubby’s used to work with him on what’s cooking. I am sure i was never invited to set due to my crush……

  • 68. Blond Duck | March 14th, 2011 at 10:14 pm | #

    It sounds amazing!

  • 69. moya | March 14th, 2011 at 10:26 pm | #

    Still yummy and adorable!

  • 70. Quay Po Cooks | March 14th, 2011 at 10:30 pm | #

    Nice post and how nice of you to shar. Thanks.

  • 71. Phunk | March 14th, 2011 at 10:35 pm | #

    Looks like a great event. Are you sure it wasn’t you overcome with emotion? ;)

  • 72. Shirley@kokken69 | March 14th, 2011 at 10:40 pm | #

    I am so glad you got to meet Nigella, Lorraine! I know I would be excited. She is so full of verve- definitely one of my favourite tv culinarian personality.

  • 73. Matilda | March 14th, 2011 at 11:11 pm | #

    Love everything about Nigella, her passion,love for food, she eats with such gusto and is not afraid of calories lol. Only I had to baulk at ‘the hair in the food’ story, I can’t think of anything worse or off-putting,( I’d literally be physically sick :-( ). I’m a stickler for hygiene and cleaniness, especially in the kitchen.
    So tell us Lorraine, did you meet her and does she know you’re NQN?

  • 74. Jen | March 14th, 2011 at 11:11 pm | #

    Awww…Love her! I love watching her cook and admire how sensual yet intelligent and articulate she is.
    I was sitting next to Gary Mehigan the other day and was starstruck shy. He’s like a big teddy bear! ;)

  • 75. Emily R | March 14th, 2011 at 11:32 pm | #

    So neat to hear she is as genuine in real life as she seems on her show, can’t believe how much she looks like her mom! Dud you have a chance to talk with her? Was she excited to meet you?

  • 76. Nuts about food | March 15th, 2011 at 12:34 am | #

    What can I say? I love Nigella too…

  • 77. Linda | March 15th, 2011 at 2:01 am | #

    She really is quite beautiful, isn’t she?

  • 78. Sarah, Maison Cupcak | March 15th, 2011 at 2:41 am | #

    What a fabulous session! I did meet her at a book signing where I formed a very similar impression to yourself however it would have been far more exciting to watch her cook live. She doesn’t tend to do live stuff in the UK so you’re very lucky!

  • 79. Hanna | March 15th, 2011 at 3:04 am | #

    Only fair that Not Quite Nigella got to meet the Real One. :) Feels like I was there too. Thanks, Lorraine.

  • 80. Jenny @ M and M | March 15th, 2011 at 4:09 am | #

    I’m jealous; couldn’t fly out to Melbourne for this but I’m hoping to meet her at DJ’s this Wednesday (back home in Sydney of course)…will you be going, Lorraine?

  • 81. Jackie (Phamfatale.com) | March 15th, 2011 at 4:20 am | #

    It sounds like you had an awesome time. I love Nigella. She is so gorgeous and her recipes are simply divine :)

  • 82. Avanika | March 15th, 2011 at 4:46 am | #

    Wow Nigella Lawson is one of my idols. It’s so awesome you met her, Lorraine. Did you introduce yourself though, with the NQN name?

  • 83. Jo Romero | March 15th, 2011 at 5:17 am | #

    Such a great post! Loved reading it! I met Nigella in November at a book signing and she was really down to earth and pleasant. She had security people around her but asked me to move in closer to her for the photo we took :) Your story was brilliant with lots of quotes and descriptions and I felt like I was there (although, sadly I wasn’t!!)

  • 84. ToniTones | March 15th, 2011 at 8:52 am | #

    Swoon! I lurrve Nigella, to the point I was considering taking a sickie tomorrow to get my copy of Kitchen signed. And it doesn’t matter how old the episode is and how many times I’ve seen it previously, but I can always watch an episode of her shows totally transfixed.

  • 85. Cakelaw | March 15th, 2011 at 1:34 pm | #

    She was wonderful, wasn’t she. Even though they said book signing would only go for half an hour, she stayed until everyone who wanted an autograph got one – I was happy, because i didn’t get to the head of the line until about 3/4 hour in.

  • 86. Susan | March 15th, 2011 at 4:08 pm | #

    I would have loved to attend that. Is she coming to the Sydney festival? I will definitely make the trip there if she is going to be there!

  • 87. Claire K Creations | March 15th, 2011 at 7:29 pm | #

    What a wonderful experience. I’m glad she’s just as lovely in real life. I’ve only become a fan in the last year and I just love her book!

  • 88. Portuguese Kitchen | March 15th, 2011 at 7:39 pm | #

    Lucy you.I love her.I’d get teary eyed if I met Leonardo Di Caprio,mmmm, what a honey.

  • 89. MaidInAustralia | March 16th, 2011 at 7:34 am | #

    Oh I’d love to meet Nigella, she is so quick-witted and real – I just wish I looked as good as she does in the kitchen!

  • 90. Amber | March 16th, 2011 at 9:34 am | #

    I know these ninety preceding posts are gushing, but who am I to go against a trend: she’s so divine! I know exactly what you mean about listening to her talk about absolutely anything… but to see her cook and hear those words tumble out of her mouth in person would surely be something to behold. Thanks for sharing :)

  • 91. wizzythestick | March 16th, 2011 at 2:24 pm | #

    Lovely post I absolutely felt like I was there. Thanks for saving me a front row seat:-)

  • 92. grace | March 17th, 2011 at 5:08 pm | #

    of all the people who i could sit and listen to for hours, nigella is very, very high on the list. what a fun time!

  • 93. Michael Toa | April 8th, 2011 at 8:58 am | #

    I love Nigella. I got to meet her on my birthday last year and even though it was only for several minutes, it was a dream came true. She’s so down to earth and friendly.

  • 94. Effie | September 27th, 2011 at 1:30 pm | #

    What color Kitchen Aid did she choose?

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