Nigella Lawson's book signing a hit

A few hundred fans culinary dream's have come true - meeting the Queen of Cooking, Nigella Lawson in Auckland.

People lined up at the Newmarket Paper Plus before 10.30am, and by the time Lawson arrived at the store at midday, the line stretched down Broadway and around the corner on to Morrow St.

Nigella Lawson signed autographs for an hour, from midday until 1.00pm.

Fans were not deterred by the heat as they waited to meet Nigella. Photo / Greg Bowker

Josie Brough queues outside Paper Plus in Newmarket for the signing session with celebrity chef Nigella. Photo / Greg Bowker

Katyanne Topping lined up for more than an hour, and said she had been a huge fan for a long time.

"Since she was on TV, I've been a huge fan. I'm not wearing mascara right now because there will be tears."

Ms Topping said she was such a big fan when she was younger, her mother was jealous of Lawson.

"She thought I'd rather have Nigella as my mum, than her. So I'm going to ask her for a hug. Hopefully I get a photo before the tears."

Niko, another fan who lined up ahead of time, was hoping to say a few words to the British author.

"Hi, how are you, I love you, marry me ... you know, normal stuff."

There were cheers as Lawson arrived, before sitting at a table surrounded by copies of her new book, Simply Nigella: Feel Good Food.

She signed hundreds of copies of the book, most bought from the same Paper Plus store that day.

Newmarket Paper Plus owner Jeanee Hughes says people were buying her back titles, as well as her new books.

Off to New Zealand now - more beauty ahead! https://t.co/kOukfLDItl

— Nigella Lawson (@Nigella_Lawson) January 23, 2016

"It's been on sale since Christmas, and we sold a lot of stock then. But obviously it's going out the door now. We've probably got about 600 books in store at the moment, and it will be interesting to see how many will be left at the end of the day."

It's definitely good business for us."After the event, fans poured out of the store with grins on their faces.

Ben says his encounter with Lawson was short and sweet, but he was going to her cooking event hosted by Kerre McIvor at the Langham Hotel tonight.

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All happy: dinner at #thesugarclub #Auckland @chefpetergordon PS Booksigning tomorrow, Mon 25th @paperplusnz Newmarket, Auckland, from 12 midday. If you can come, will be very happy to see you

A post shared by Nigella (@nigellalawson) on Jan 24, 2016 at 2:05am PST

"It was pretty quick, but I asked her on a date and she said 'later' - so maybe tonight!"I've been a fan for a few years now ... I knew her as a beautiful woman before I knew she was a chef. Then I bought her book and started eating her food."

Tonight's event consists of a four-course dining experience, made up of premium New Zealand foods, plus wine and beer.

It is hosted by Newstalk ZB's Kerre McIvor, with live music by Dave Dobbyn and an interactive Q + A with Lawson.

Lawson is expected to talk about her food and business successes, and all those attending will be given a copy of her latest cookbook to take home.