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Home / Entertainment

My Kitchen Rules star Nigella Lawson admits she doesn’t host large dinner parties anymore

NZ Herald
11 Jul, 2023 10:56 PM3 mins to read

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English cook and food writer, Nigella Lawson, has made a surprising confession about her cooking habits. Photo / Getty Images

English cook and food writer, Nigella Lawson, has made a surprising confession about her cooking habits. Photo / Getty Images

Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson has made a surprising confession.

The star who recently visited Australia for a six week filming stint on My Kitchen Rules, revealed she no longer hosts lavish dinner parties, preferring to have intimate one to two person informal meals.

Speaking to The Times, the star said she has returned to her home in the UK where she has a large open-plan kitchen however, using it for large gatherings is now a thing of the past.

“I’ve got out of the habit of it,” she said adding, “I’ll have a person or a couple of people over quite often and I keep planning to have people round in a proper grown-up way but I haven’t yet. I must!

“I feel a bit guilty because people have had me for dinner and I haven’t had them back.”

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Nigella Lawson has revealed she would prefer to cook for one to two people instead of a large group. Photo / Supplied
Nigella Lawson has revealed she would prefer to cook for one to two people instead of a large group. Photo / Supplied

She continued to share that another resolution sees her opting for unfussy and easy starters - she no longer creates intricate meals and admits she prefers to have a friend or two come over “in their pyjamas to have supper”.

Alluding to the reason behind her surprising decision, the 63-year-old told the news outlet she is a big fan of having smaller parties of people for dinner where they can all share from one dish like a buffet.

Lawson said she believes this creates the opportunity for better conversation as her guests can all sit at one table.

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One thing she has taken up since changing her approach to dinner parties however, is a recent liking for vegan food.

“I cook a lot more vegan food than I used to simply because we have more vegans coming to the house.

“That always interests me and I never find it annoying. It’s a good way of cooking a bit differently because it’s not an empty exercise – you’re creating something for a particular person and I like that.”

Lawson is no stranger to changing her habits and routines. In 2018 she revealed she had reduced her alcohol intake as she found it tended to “exacerbate” her anxiety.

Speaking on singer-songwriter Jessie Ware’s podcast Table Manners, the TV personality said at the time alcohol reduces her worries at first, but it leaves her with “a horrible tight feeling of worry”.

She said at the time that she still has the odd drink, “but not very often. If I have even two glasses of wine I need to have lots of food afterward” as it raises her blood sugar levels.

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