Review of An Evening with Nigella Lawson event at Adelaide’s Her Majesty’s Theatre

Matt Preston described the evening as like “Taylor Swift but for adults”, and the British queen of home cooking let none of her fans down during an engaging appearance in Adelaide.

Adelaide knows how to tickle the tastebuds of British culinary queen Nigella Lawson.

The acclaimed food writer and TV cook was back in town at Her Majesty’s Theatre on Tuesday night, and she couldn’t resist raving about the city and in particular, our food and wine scene.

“I love coming here to eat. I’ve spent time in Adelaide before and the thing is, the produce is so good. The wine is so delicious. You eat terribly well and that’s always an incentive for me but I love it here anyway – it’s very beautiful,” she told good friend and former MasterChef judge Matt Preston on stage. “It’s a place I feel very cosy and comfortable.”

The third and final stop on her Australian tour, Lawson also elaborated on her return visit to Leigh St hotspot Fugazzi Bar and Dining on Monday night, where she devoured a tomahawk steak and Whisson Lake wine from the Adelaide Hills.

“I went back because they do something that is as if they have tapped into my tastebuds... the anchovy béarnaise,” she said. “It was a wonderful experience.”

The in conversation appearance, called An Evening With Nigella Lawson, was the perfect setting for her fans to get further acquainted with the British domestic goddess, who has sold more than 12 million cookbooks and starred in 15 TV shows during her illustrious career.

Despite her success, she remains remarkably down-to-earth, and is just the right amount of self-deprecating, entertaining and eloquent.

“I’m so not a glamorous person, I’m incredibly clumsy,” she admitted.

“I am in real life a complete mess... walking onto stage tonight all I’m thinking is don’t fall over.

“I am a disappointment to most people sometimes. But I’m too old to change.”

An Evening with Nigella Lawson photos in Perth. Picture: Rossco Hunter – Hunter Brothers Media

Prodded beautifully by master interviewer Preston, Lawson shared her take on current culinary trends, from the rise of degustations to photographing your food.

The ultimate home chef, she revealed some of her cooking secrets and encouraged the audience to be bold and take risks in the kitchen.

“Recipes are subjective. What’s perfect is what gives you pleasure in the moment,” she said.

“Cooking is an experimental art. And so is life. There’s always new mistakes to be made.”

Starting out as a journalist who became deputy literary editor of The Sunday Times in London at the age of 26, Lawson, 64, never imagined her career would turn out like this. And she conceded life in the public eye can be difficult.

“I don’t read things written about me if I can help it. I’m quite oversensitive as a person,” she said.

“There are times in my life when I find it hard to leave the house. But I know you can’t let fear dominate what you do.”

Providing long and detailed answers to questions, initially from Preston and then later from the sold-out crowd, Lawson thoughtful life lessons go beyond the kitchen.

It’s the world according to Nigella and her disciples in the audience lapped it up.

As Preston accurately described, An Evening With Nigella is like Gather Round for foodies, or Taylor Swift for adults.

Nigella Lawson is back in Adelaide.

Earlier in the day, Lawson took to social media to share her Monday night dinner at Laura and Max Sharrad’s top city restaurant, Fugazzi, two years after she enjoyed “one of the best” steak dishes she’s ever had at the Leigh St eatery.

Lawson was more than satisfied as she tucked into a “perfectly cooked” tomahawk steak, anchovy hollandaise and chips. She dined with her tour producer and the pair shared a bottle of Whisson Lake wine from the Adelaide Hills.

“Greetings from Adelaide! It was just wonderful to be able to nip back into @fugazzi.bdr last night for this fortifying feast,” she captioned a photo of her meal.

“I cannot wait for my show at Her Majesty’s Theatre @adelaidefescent tonight!”

A fellow guest said Lawson chatted with other diners and was “super-friendly”, even celebrating with someone toasting their 70th birthday at the next table.

On her last visit to Adelaide in 2022, Lawson also ate at Fugazzi, revealing she was lured in by the “delicious” smells emanating outside the Italian laneway eatery.

“She said she’d walked past Fugazzi the past few days and thought it smelt delicious,” said owner Laura Sharrad, who came runner-up on MasterChef in 2014, and opened Fugazzi with her husband Max in April 2021.

Nigella Lawson with Laura Sharrad at Fugazzi in 2022. Picture: Supplied/ Laura Sharrad

On that visit, Lawson also surprised the owners and staff at Parwana Afghan Kitchen, on Henley Beach Road, popping into the venue to taste the menu.

It’s not the first time Lawson has sampled South Australia’s dining scene. She dined at restaurant Shobosho in 2019 with Barossa food legend Maggie Beer, while in town for a show at Adelaide Festival Centre, as well as Jock Zonfrillo’s former Adelaide restaurant, Orana.