Nigella Lawson

“FOOD IS THE LANGUAGE OF EMOTION” (Close Up: Nigella Lawson, Queen of Food Porn, 2012)

Nigella Lawson, the food goddess herself is the one I must refer to and unlike many other TV chefs she remains taboo!

Nigella Lawson has a very smooth, stylish and seductive manner of presenting. She uses semantic fields and is brilliantly descriptive as she entices her audiences with effortless recipes. For instance in Nigella Express, while making an Anglo Asian Lamb Salad Nigella proceeds “to strew chunkily” the lamb over some lettuce leaves. This relaxed attitude about cooking soothes the reader who might become worried about the presentation of the dish. After all, food is to be eaten, enjoyed and not looked at.

Like stated in Carol Wright’s “The Liberated Cook’s Book” Nigella very much embodies “today’s cook (who) may be a full-time career woman who also runs the house and garden, does the shopping and hopes to enjoy entertaining friends to a meal she has prepared after a day at the office”(205). This is seen throughout Nigella’s many series’ where she is entertaining her friends with a table laden with delicious food without breaking a sweat. It is common to think that having a midweek dinner will be all well and good, however when the day approaches you find yourself without your hair done nor your potatoes peeled.

Like her many cookery books, on her show Nigella adds a small peri-text/recall of memory before each recipe citing her passions, influences and her take on that particular recipe. This is supported in the Food and Wine magazine by writer Jen Murphy, where Nigella states,

“When I write a book, the words really inhabit the page and get behind the page. But on TV, you want the viewer to have the same experience as you in the kitchen, and you need to unite visually. I do a running commentary and really try to use words in a very precise way and try to be evocative with my language.”

In the Nigella Express episode “Against the Clock” she manages to create a wonderful three course meal that leaves her guests amazed as one of her guests asks, “I just can’t imagine how you manage to do all this after work, because it’s quite amazing what you’ve put together in what…just….what – half an hour?” To which Nigella replies, “I find greed to be a great motivator.”

I have concluded 3 main reasons for Nigella’s success:

1.        Normality. Yes, you heard me, she lives a very ordinary, relatable life that includes obstacles like everyone else. For instance Nigella also doesn’t use ingredients that aren’t easily accessible, if you are quick sighted enough you will be able to catch a glimpse of a Tesco or Waitrose label. Also, we see Nigella doing general day to day errands such as picking up her children from school, doing the laundry, gardening and going shopping etc. Thus her recipes and style of cooking are all cleverly created to accommodate everyday life.
2.     Ease. In all of her series’ bar a few recipes, most dishes are achievable by the amateur. Let’s face it, no one has more hours in a day than anyone else. Therefore, you are not going to find a recipe for a roast dinner that takes 15 minutes. Be reasonable. Nigella provides shortcuts, cheat ingredients and enthusiasm. And in the midst of working life, children and everything else that you encounter you must appreciate her sharing these easy alternatives, which the nation does! Nigella doesn’t name Nigella Express for no reason, it is packed full of speedy, delicious dishes that can be whipped up in just 20 minutes.
3.     Genuineness. Clearly Nigella doesn’t fake her persona and she is only interested in presenting delicious food in no time. She is unapologetic about not being a chef, she does not claim to be a connoisseur or an expert in a certain area of food. And while many ‘cheffy’ programmes with Heston Blumenthal, with his impeccable metallic gadgets and perfect ‘chef whites’ cooks alone in a kitchen. Nigella is at home, she is comfortable and it is much more engaging seeing her in a leisurely manner when her children occasionally walk into the kitchen and eat at the dinner table.

I have always found Nigella to be classy and sophisticated, from her book covers to the colour scheme of her clothing. Although she admits to being messy and clumsy, she does not become flustered. Nowadays, with media and importance of image it is not suggested that you be yourself but rather change your image and personality for the camera. However Nigella embraces flaws and mistakes.

To bring this to the boil (pun intended) I’ve always loved the homely feel of Nigella’s different series’, the pottering around in slippers, pouring a glass of wine while waiting for a stew to well...stew and just seeing Nigella in her office typing away. I completely share her view that “greed, a helpful obsession and the connection between food, people and culture” (Close Up: Nigella Lawson, Queen of Food Porn, 2012) drives our motivation of love, happiness and life. However, I think the one thing she leaves out is how to look fabulous 24/7!