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Food writer and cooking show host Nigella Lawson comes to Irvine

Food writer and cooking show host Nigella Lawson.
(Courtesy of the Irvine Barclay Theater)
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Nigella Lawson wants you to consider the anchovy.

“Anchovies, as strong and emphatic as they can be, can also work very subtly in a dish,” she said.

The British cookbook author, food writer and cooking show host has built her career on sharing her own cooking experiences and culinary wisdom, and anchovies are among her recommendations.

“You can put them in the beginning of a stew and very few people if any will say, ‘There is anchovy there,’” Lawson said. “They will just notice it gives a bit of salt, but not salt that is stinging but rounder — a deeper note.”

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Her latest cookbook, “Cook, Eat, Repeat” features a chapter titled “A is for Anchovy,” in which she discusses all of the tiny fish’s superior qualities.

Anchovies are among the topics you can expect to hear about this month when Lawson makes an appearance at the Irvine Barclay Theatre on Nov. 26. As an added bonus, the event will be moderated by KCRW’s Evan Kleiman.

“What I like about a live event is that it is just that,” said Lawson. “And what determines the second half completely are the questions from the audience, and I have no idea what they are going to ask.”

Lawson said the spontaneity makes for a more authentic dynamic, which she emphasized on her first TV series, “Nigella Bites,” and subsequent broadcast series since.

“When I do my television shows, I am never scripted. I say right from the beginning, it is so much better to speak than to perform.”

Lawson will be discussing “Cook, Eat, Repeat” which, besides anchovies, gets to the heart of cooking. The book isn’t broken down in the traditional sense with appetizers, entrees and desserts but instead examines cooking in a way that is at once broad and detailed.

“It is something of a reflection on cooking, on the nature of cooking. It begins to some extent with what a recipe is and what people expect from it,” said Lawson. “And what it can deliver and what it can’t.”

Nigella Lawson, author of "Cook, Eat, Repeat."
(Matt Holyoak)

Lawson has written 12 best-selling books. Her latest was published in 2020, but she is only now touring with it since COVID-19 restrictions didn’t allow for book tours. She wrote it during London’s lockdown, which Lawson said accounts for its length.

“My books tend to have a lot of writing in them, this one a particular amount partly because I wrote it during lockdown, and therefore it could not be contained.”

Lawson, who began her career as a journalist reviewing books and restaurants, said food writing touches on so many other parts of our identity and our culture.

“For me, one of the great joys of writing about food is writing about life in a sense,” said Lawson.

Another chapter that might be as polarizing as anchovies is titled “A Loving Defense of Brown Food.”

“I think maybe in the Instagram age, food that looks bold and beautiful finds more favor, and sometimes there is more dwelling on the appearance than the taste,” said Lawson. “Where as we know a lot of the food that isn’t quite so ripe for a photo op has a lot of flavor and resonance in terms of memories.”

Lawson’s opinions are not backed by a desire to simply offer a hot take but the product of years of culinary experience and wisdom, which she still humbly insists doesn’t make her a chef.

“I am a home cook,” Lawson said firmly.

Tickets for Nigella Lawson featuring KCRW’s Evan Kleiman on Nov. 26 at 7:30 p.m. are available at thebarclay.org.

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