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Nigella Lawson speaks on her father’s death for the first time

<p>Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson has shared an update with her social media followers, thanking them for their support following her father’s death. </p> <p>The news of his passing was covered by the BBC and <em>The Guardian </em>on April 4, naming the former conservative chancellor as “one of the most consequential of all post-war UK chancellors”. </p> <p>Nigel Lawson was 91 years old when he passed, with a political career of almost five decades to his name. He served under Margaret Thatcher during the 1980s, holding a number of different roles, before retiring to the backbench in 1992. He went on to sit in the House of Lords until his retirement, just three short months before his passing. </p> <p>Nigel is survived by six children, and it was the 63-year-old Nigella who took to Twitter to express her gratitude to her 2.7 million followers for the love and support being directed to their family in their time of grief, as well as assuring them that while she needed some time, she would return to them. </p> <p>“Thank you for all your kind messages,” she wrote. “And I’ll be back on here properly tomorrow.” </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Thank you for all your kind messages. And I’ll be back on here properly tomorrow</p> <p>— Nigella Lawson (@Nigella_Lawson) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nigella_Lawson/status/1643303805151240209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p>“Thinking of you, dearest girl. Your father was always kind and a consummate gentleman whenever I came across him as a journalist,” journalist Pádraig Belton wrote in response, before sharing a brief insight into his experiences with the late Nigel. </p> <p>“Been thinking of you, and Dominic and your kids today. Your dad was an interesting man,” editor Fiammetta Rocco said. “Scary, but very smart.”</p> <p>“Be well. Know that you are loved. Holding you and your family in prayer during this time of loss,” a reverend offered. </p> <p>“Don't rush yourself - give yourself enough time to process it all. Wrap yourself in the good memories &amp; cosset yourself however you choose about the not so good,” one kind supporter advised. “Take care of yourself first - we can all wait.”</p> <p>Nigella wasn’t the only notable figure to note Nigel’s death on social media, with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak sharing his condolences with his own 1.9 million followers.</p> <p>"One of the first things I did as Chancellor was hang a picture of Nigel Lawson above my desk," he said.</p> <p>"He was a transformational Chancellor and an inspiration to me and many others. My thoughts are with his family and friends at this time."</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">One of the first things I did as Chancellor was hang a picture of Nigel Lawson above my desk.</p> <p>He was a transformational Chancellor and an inspiration to me and many others.</p> <p>My thoughts are with his family and friends at this time. <a href="https://t.co/SPwcnoUFnQ">pic.twitter.com/SPwcnoUFnQ</a></p> <p>— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) <a href="https://twitter.com/RishiSunak/status/1642988449258160128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p>And Britain’s former prime minister Boris Johnson also had something to offer, writing that Nigel “was a fearless and original flame of free market Conservatism. He was a tax-cutter and simplifier who helped transform the economic landscape and helped millions of British people achieve their dreams … He was a prophet of Brexit and a lover of continental Europe. He was a giant. </p> <p>“My thoughts and prayers are with his family.”</p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Caring

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Adoring fans in shock after learning Nigella's age

<p>Nigella Lawson is currently delighting Australian screens with her long anticipated My Kitchen rules debut.</p> <p>The iconic food writer has replaced chef Pete Evans on the 2022 season of the hit Channel 7 series and has managed to single-handedly revive the struggling franchise while it competes with its rival show, Married At First Sight on channel 9.</p> <p>Lawson published her first cookbook in 1998 and her TV show Nigella Bites ran for two years. The beloved chef turned 62 in January, leaving people everywhere stunned to learn her real age.</p> <p>One person said: "Can someone explain to me how Nigella Lawson can look so stunning ALL THE TIME? she 62yo and looks 42 What kind of witchcraft is she performing!"</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Can someone explain to me how Nigella Lawson can look so stunning ALL THE TIME?<br />she 62yo and looks 42<br />What kind of witchcraft is she performing!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MKR?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MKR</a></p> <p>— VišnjaCreates (@VisnjaCreates) <a href="https://twitter.com/VisnjaCreates/status/1556596614097420288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 8, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p>While another tweeted: "Nigella Lawson is 62???? As a white woman she looks very decent, even her hands don’t show her age wow"</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Nigella Lawson is 62???? As a white woman she looks very decent, even her hands don’t show her age wow</p> <p>— Hi, its me. (@JeffChangx) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffChangx/status/1554596637925834752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 2, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p>The mother-of-two has credited her youthful look to avoiding the sun and eating “lots of fats”. She previously told Oprah that she was “trying to go with” ageing.</p> <p>Comments continued to roll in: "I’m sorry but HOW is Nigella Lawson 62?!"</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">I’m sorry but HOW is Nigella Lawson 62?!</p> <p>— 𝕃ach⚜️ (@L_JA21) <a href="https://twitter.com/L_JA21/status/1478900970843222016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p>"Nigella Lawson is 62. I refuse to accept this."</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Nigella Lawson is 62. I refuse to accept this. <a href="https://t.co/uJ5t88fhrO">pic.twitter.com/uJ5t88fhrO</a></p> <p>— Zoë Paramour (@ZoeParamour) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZoeParamour/status/1503459961153720325?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p>It has been understood Nigella will only feature in half of the reason with former MasterChef judge Matt Preston back for the second half.</p> <p><em>Image: Instagram</em></p>

Beauty & Style

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Manu Feildel and Kyle Sandilands pop off in tense exchange

<p dir="ltr">Kyle Sandilands and Manu Feildel went head-to-head in a tense exchange about new <em>My Kitchen Rules </em>judge, Nigella Lawson.</p> <p dir="ltr">The shock jock questioned Manu as to why Nigella wouldn’t agree to doing an interview with him and help promote the show.</p> <p dir="ltr">“What’s her problem? Apparently I hear, correct me if I’m wrong producers, the network is upset because Nigella’s said ‘no way, you’re not going on that filthy show’. Our show. How does that happen?” Kyle asked. </p> <p dir="ltr">A confused Manu was shocked to hear the claims and told Kyle he was not sure as to why Nigella would not agree to an interview, explaining this is the first time he’s heard of it. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I have no idea, that’s news to me buddy. I will make sure she talks to you next time,” he responded.</p> <p dir="ltr">But that was not a good enough excuse for Kyle who continued his rampage against the wrong person.</p> <p dir="ltr">“How am I meant to support you when the woman besides you loathes the thought of me?” he asked.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I think she’s amazing, she’s the queen but when you find out someone doesn’t like you, you can’t  help but not like someone back.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Manu’s voice changed and he made it clear that he was uncomfortable about the subject, requesting that they speak about <em>My Kitchen Rules</em>. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I think you’re just being upset for no reason. Let’s not get upset guys.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“I think he’s embarrassed that his co-worker let him down,” Kyle told Jackie O. </p> <p dir="ltr">Jackie O did not want anything to do with the conversation and said “maybe he [Manu] was sick of talking about it [Nigella]”. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Who gives a s**t what he's sick and tired of talking about!” Kyle shot back. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I like Manu, I like the show, he can come on but I am very shocked about the Nigella thing. That’s a real slap to the face.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Kyle then asked Manu to “sort out” Nigella’s management before the conversation slowly ended. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>My Kitchen Rules airs on Channel 7 on Sunday August 7 at 7pm. </em></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

TV

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My Kitchen Rules makes its highly-anticipated return

<p dir="ltr"><em>My Kitchen Rules</em> is once again hitting the screens on Sunday August 7. </p> <p dir="ltr">The cooking show’s future was up in the air for a bit following terrible ratings as well as the controversy around former judge Pete Evans’ covid conspiracy theories and anti-vaxx stance.</p> <p dir="ltr">But alas, fans have been given an air date with Manu Feildel coming back to judge the food along with newcomer, television cook Nigella Lawson. </p> <p dir="ltr">"Going to restaurants can be a treat, but for me, the true story of food is told through the cooking we do at home,” Nigella said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“So, to have the chance to champion home cooks and be given the intimate privilege of being invited into people’s homes to eat their food fills me with gratitude and excitement in equal measure!”</p> <p dir="ltr">The show will go back to its roots of everyday Aussies showing off their culinary skills and love for food as they compete for the winning prize of $250,000.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgk2z5ghkJC/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgk2z5ghkJC/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by MKR (@mykitchenrules)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Manu recently spoke on the I’ve Got News For You podcast about missing Pete by his side judging the food but said the pair remain “good friends”. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Of course, Pete and I have known each other for a long time, we’re still good friends today, so yeah – missing that,” he told host Andrew Bucklow.</p> <p dir="ltr">“At the same token, you know, it was nice to work with someone new and someone different. The show has been on the shelf for a couple of years, so it was exciting to be working with someone else.”</p> <p>The new season of <em>My Kitchen Rules</em> airs on Sunday August 7 on Channel 7 at 7pm.</p> <p><em>Image: Instagram</em></p>

TV

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Nigella Lawson's big news for fans of great food

<p>Queen of the kitchen Nigella Lawson has officially been confirmed for the new season of Australia's favourite cooking show, My Kitchen Rules.</p> <p>Joining returning host and judge Manu Feildel, Nigella will travel around Australia to dine in the homes of passionate home cooks who are competing for the title of MKR Champion.</p> <p>Speaking on the new experience, Nigella said: "Going to restaurants can be a treat, but for me, the true story of food is told through the cooking we do at home. So, to have the chance to champion home cooks and be given the intimate privilege of being invited into people's homes to eat their food fills me with gratitude and excitement in equal measure!"</p> <p>The international cooking star added that she is "so looking forward" to working alongside Manu.</p> <p>"Although he's a chef and I'm a home cook, the fact is we both just want to eat good food," she said.</p> <p>"I feel I've got a lot to learn from him, but just know we'll have a lot of fun in the process. I can't wait!"</p> <p>Manu echoed a similar statement, saying he was "very excited" and "thrilled" to be sitting back at the head of the MKR table with Nigella at his side.</p> <p>"As MKR judges, we make the perfect team with our years of experience in professional and home kitchens respectively," he said.</p> <p>"And as lovers of delicious food and a fabulous dinner party, I can promise you we're also going to have a lot of fun. Bring it on!"</p> <p>Nigella will be replacing paleo chef Pete Evans who parted ways with the Seven Network in May 2020.</p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Food & Wine

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Pete Evans responds to being replaced by Nigella Lawson

<p>Pete Evans has responded to the news that he is set to be replaced on <em>My Kitchen Rules</em>.</p> <p>The controversial celebrity chef, who has come under fire in recent years for his stance on the Covid-19 pandemic and vaccine mandates, will be replaced on the upcoming season of the cooking show by Nigella Lawson.</p> <p>As the news of his replacement was made public, the former TV judge took to his Telegram account to wish the show and his friend Manu Feildel luck for the new season.</p> <p>“I wish Channel 7, the crew and my dear mate Manu all the very best on their upcoming series,” he posted on the platform.</p> <p>“I will always cherish the many years we spent together, creating so many wonderful memories.”</p> <p>Pete was dropped by Channel 7 in 2020 after ratings for the popular show tanked.</p> <p>Around the time of his departure, the former TV personality was involved in a string of controversies including claiming coronavirus could be eradicated by a $14,990 “BioCharger” device he plugged on Facebook.</p> <p>On Sunday, British cooking queen Nigella Lawson announced she would be joining the show for the new season, and that she "can't wait" for the new experience.</p> <p>“Going to restaurants can be a treat, but for me, the true story of food is told through the cooking we do at home,” the 62-year-old said.</p> <p>“So, to have the chance to champion home cooks and be given the intimate privilege of being invited into people’s homes to eat their food fills me with gratitude and excitement in equal measure!"</p> <p>“I’m so looking forward to working with Manu too. Although he’s a chef and I’m a home cook, the fact is we both just want to eat good food. I feel I’ve got a lot to learn from him, but just know we’ll have a lot of fun in the process. I can’t wait!”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Food & Wine

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Nigella Lawson opens up on tragic family losses

<p dir="ltr">Nigella Lawson has spoken about how losing several family members far too soon has changed her perspective on ageing and death.</p> <p dir="ltr">The celebrity chef’s latest interview with <em>New Idea</em> magazine saw her open up about the death of her mother and sister within eight years of each other and the effect it’s had.</p> <p dir="ltr">“My mother died at 48 and my sister died at 32, so to mind about getting older would be slightly odd,” the 62-year-old told the magazine.</p> <p dir="ltr">Her mother, Vanessa Salmon, died of liver cancer in 1985 and her sister, Thomasina, died in 1993 of breast cancer.</p> <p dir="ltr">Their deaths had a huge impact on Lawson, who has led a healthy lifestyle and embraced life to the fullest as a result.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-856c761c-7fff-6ce0-2930-4233846e11f8"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“I’m much more concerned with my health and keeping mobile,” she said.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CbgdkgKIBRM/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CbgdkgKIBRM/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Nigella (@nigellalawson)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“It might sound corny, but if you’re well, then that really is the most important thing.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Lawson added that ageing is “just life” for her, and that there’s “no point in focusing on it too much” since “it’s going to happen”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Sometimes I look at my hands and think: ‘Oh my God!’ But what are you going to do? It’s just life,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Lawson recently touched down in Australia for last month’s Melbourne Food &amp; Wine Festival, as rumours that she will be staying in the country as a permanent judge on MasterChef or the upcoming revival of My Kitchen Rules continue to circulate. </p> <p dir="ltr">Despite the speculation, Lawson has said little about them yet.</p> <p dir="ltr">To read Nigella Lawson’s full interview with <em>New Idea</em>, click <a href="https://www.newidea.com.au/nigella-lawson-diet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-6b2ebcb5-7fff-7fe8-5d6e-9b8f83d5e8e2"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @nigellalawson (Instagram)</em></p>

Family & Pets

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Review: The Drover’s Wife: the Legend of Molly Johnson

<p><em>Review: The Drover’s Wife: the Legend of Molly Johnson, written and directed by Leah Purcell, Sydney Film Festival</em></p> <p>Leah Purcell’s The Drover’s Wife: the Legend of Molly Johnson is an inspired and compelling re-imagining of Henry Lawson’s <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9363188-the-drover-s-wife" target="_blank">The Drover’s Wife</a>, a short story originally published in The Bulletin in 1892.</p> <p>Purcell’s debut feature film as writer and director, filmed in late 2019, has emerged out of a lifelong connection with this story. Citing three generations of drovers in her own family, <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82A3wzwKWOI" target="_blank">Purcell explained in a recent interview</a> how, as a five-year-old girl, she would implore her mother to read Lawson’s story to her. For Purcell, it was, “the first time I used my imagination and saw myself in a story”.</p> <p>As her mother recited, Purcell would imagine a “little film in my head”. In it, she was the little boy in the story and her mother the drover’s wife.</p> <p>Purcell has been repeatedly drawn to The Drover’s Wife as a way of placing her Indigenous family’s story before a broad Australian audience. The film expands on the acclaimed stage play she wrote and starred in, <a rel="noopener" href="https://belvoir.com.au/productions/the-drovers-wife/" target="_blank">which premiered at Belvoir Street Theatre in 2016</a> and won the Victorian prize for literature, two NSW premier’s literary awards and four Helpmann awards. She also adapted the play into a <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-drovers-wife-9780143791478" target="_blank">novel, released in 2019</a>.</p> <p><iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TltTxxIqv4U?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p>In all three versions of the story, set in 1893 in the Snowy Mountains in NSW, Purcell gives voice to Indigenous experiences of the frontier that were maligned and marginalised in Lawson’s version.</p> <p>As in the play, the film is carried by its Indigenous co-stars. Purcell plays the drover’s wife, Molly Johnson, unearthing an Indigenous heritage for the character. Johnson is burdened by a dark secret and Purcell imbues the role with a determined strength, her posture and gaze expressing fortitude, grit and constant vigilance, whether she is carrying her broom or her rifle.</p> <p>Rob Collins plays Yadaka, a character inspired by Purcell’s great-grandfather, Tippo Charlie Chambers, a caring and gentle man who spent time as a travelling circus performer in the 1890s while yearning for his Country.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430929/original/file-20211108-19-11q4cdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430929/original/file-20211108-19-11q4cdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <em><span class="caption">Yadaka (Rob Collins), left, is central to this reworked story.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bunya Productions, Oombarra Productions</span></span></em></p> <p>Yadaka is central to Purcell’s reworking of the original story, fleshed out from the brief mention of a “stray blackfellow” who chops some wood for the drover’s wife in Lawson’s version.</p> <p>In the film, the fugitive Yadaka arrives at the heavily pregnant Molly’s isolated property and ultimately saves her life when her labour goes wrong, helping her to bury her stillborn child. But Yadaka is a wanted man, blamed for the murder of a white family in town. This sets off an unfortunate chain of events.</p> <p>Yadaka also unlocks Molly’s understanding of her Indigenous family, paving the way for her children to escape from becoming wards of the state. The strong bond the drover’s wife has with her children in Lawson’s original story is deepened in Purcell’s film. Molly is driven to protect her children from the authorities and to overcome violence and hardship.</p> <p>Molly’s eldest son Danny – played by Malachi Dower-Roberts, who <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82A3wzwKWOI" target="_blank">Purcell joyfully describes</a> as a “red-haired freckled Blackfella from Glebe” – functions as a figure of hope in the film.</p> <p>He forms a bond with Yadaka, taking responsibility for guiding his siblings to safety. The absence of the drover himself, Jo Johnson, meanwhile, is attributed to his being a violent drunk and an abuser, rather than the heroic, pioneering figure imagined by Lawson.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430931/original/file-20211108-17-wm8elz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430931/original/file-20211108-17-wm8elz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <em><span class="caption">Molly Johnson is driven to protect her children.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bunya Productions, Oombarra Productions</span></span></em></p> <p>The film was shot in and around Adaminaby. Cinematographer Mark Wareham captures the beauty and harshness of the rolling hills and valleys of this vast, alpine landscape, from dusty clearings to lush greenery and stark, white snow.</p> <p>Foreboding, enveloping mists are rendered by the time-lapse photography of Murray Fredericks. The beauty and menace of this landscape frame the film’s harrowing violence. The final closeup shots are especially chilling.</p> <p><strong>Violent realities</strong></p> <p>Purcell’s is not, of course, the first re-imagining of Lawson’s story. In 2017, Frank Moorhouse brought together a collection of its numerous literary reworkings in <a rel="noopener" href="https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/review/the-drovers-wife-wives-frank-moorhouse-ryan-oneill/" target="_blank">The Drover’s Wife: A Celebration of a Great Love Affair</a>, including the writer and director’s notes from Purcell’s original play.</p> <p>But Purcell’s cinematic version of the story exemplifies what Felicity Collins and Therese Davis describe in their book <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.cambridge.org/au/academic/subjects/arts-theatre-culture/media-mass-communication/australian-cinema-after-mabo?format=HB&amp;isbn=9780521834803" target="_blank">Australian Cinema After Mabo</a> as a process of “cinematic backtracking”. Familiar figures and archetypes are revived and reworked, opening up new meanings and interpretations.</p> <p>In recent years, we have witnessed a surge of interest in the archetypes, themes and aesthetics of the Western in Australian cinema with films like The Proposition (John Hillcoat, 2005), Sweet Country (Warwick Thornton, 2017), The Nightingale (Jennifer Kent, 2018) and High Ground (Stephen Johnson, 2020). All suggest a growing reckoning with the violent realities of our frontier history.</p> <p>Purcell’s film is part of this turn.</p> <p>By bringing her personal history and identity as a Black woman to bear on the Australian Western, Purcell has enriched this burgeoning film cycle.</p> <p>The way that Purcell’s Molly Johnson endures in this film is both inspiring and heartbreaking. This is a subversive survival story that brings an unflinching new perspective to Australian cinema’s ongoing engagement with the frontier.</p> <p><em>The Drover’s Wife will be in cinemas May 2022.</em><!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170782/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/megan-carrigy-1283895" target="_blank">Megan Carrigy</a>, Associate Director, Academic Programs, <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/new-york-university-1016" target="_blank">New York University</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/the-drovers-wife-the-legend-of-molly-johnson-brings-a-black-womans-perspective-to-australian-frontier-films-170782" target="_blank">original article</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Image: <span>Bunya Productions, Oombarra Productions</span></em></p>

Movies

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Succession star’s secret backyard wedding

<p>Australian actress Sarah Snook has revealed she married comedian Dave Lawson in a secret ceremony last year. </p> <p>The 33-year-old <em>Succession</em> star told <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.vogue.com.au/culture/features/succession-sarah-snook/news-story/681fdf0ac48b0aad26af57b0f9becdd0" target="_blank">Vogue Australia</a> that the pair started living together as friends at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. </p> <p><span>"At the beginning of the pandemic last year, I got locked down in Melbourne with one of my best mates and we fell in love," she said.</span></p> <p><span>"We've been friends since 2014, lived together, travelled together, always excited to see each other, but totally platonic."</span></p> <p><span>Snook continued, "We've just never been single at the same time."</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVGwelchKms/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVGwelchKms/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Vogue Australia (@vogueaustralia)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span>Sarah admitted that she was the one who proposed to Dave, before they tied in the knot in her Brooklyn backyard surrounded by her housemates and <em>Succession</em> co-star Aussie Ash Zukerman — who also played witness.</span></p> <p><span>"It's been a ride," Sarah added. "There's so much heartache and sadness in the world, but on a micro personal level, I've been very fortunate.</span></p> <p><span>"There's a really lovely grace in that without the pandemic, we might not have ended up together so quickly."</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVHZguTvZ1l/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVHZguTvZ1l/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Vogue Australia (@vogueaustralia)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span>Sarah plays the character of Siobhan 'Shiv' Roy in HBO's hit drama <em>Succession</em>, with season three premiering on Binge on October 18th. </span></p> <p><span>Despite playing a tough character on screen, Sarah's personality reflects her Adelaide upbringing and trademark Aussie wit. </span></p> <p><span>Her career defining role in Succession has been one that brought many challenges, but Sarah also meticulously chooses her work. </span></p> <p><span>“I always feel like I’ve played by choice and good fortune, interesting, complex, strong and a good diversity of women, in terms of their characters." </span></p> <p><span>"They often have a strength and they’re not pushovers, but there’s usually been a redeeming softness that they’re protecting. And Shiv has that as well, but her defense of that softness is so different from who I am as a person.”</span></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images / Instagram @sarah_snook</em></p>

Relationships

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Nigella Lawson: "How my daughter taught me to be happy again"

<p>Nigella Lawson is known by many as being a domestic goddess in the kitchen, but she credits her daughter for helping her transform her life after her ex-husband grabbed her by the throat.</p> <p>Charles Saatchi, advertising millionaire, shocked the world as he grabbed his then wife by the throat in public in a busy restaurant. Just seven weeks after the incident back in 2013, their 10-year marriage was over.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7828843/nigella-lawson.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/8b57f00d49ae48ceab13b0a2e626367d" /></p> <p>However, Nigella’s confidence was shaken, and she developed a fear of being photographed or being seen in public.</p> <p>Her daughter, Cosima Diamond, 25, is credited with helping Nigella overcome her fear.</p> <p>“I have been forced to be guarded. I used to be more open and I’d like to think I will be again,” Nigella opened up to <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/nigella-lawson-says-daughter-transformed-18457049" target="_blank"><em>The Mirror.</em></a></p> <p>"Cosima said to me, ‘Mum, would you rather be a real person like you or someone who has hair and make-up done to go to the supermarket? It is better to be a real person.’ She’s right.”</p> <p>Nigella also shared that her children are the biggest fans of her cooking, but they make fun of her presenting style.</p> <p>“When I am on TV, I cook the food that I cook at home but my children always tease me.</p> <p>“I do a running commentary at home of my life like I do on TV.</p> <p>“I always wanted to do the advanced driving test as when you do it you have to do a commentary like, ‘I am now moving into second gear.’ I do feel I ought to take it.”</p> <p>Nigella says that she gets a “bit nervous or a bit awkward” due to the camera being on her.</p> <p>“The thing about television is that it is both frightening and boring.</p> <p>"It is not an act, but I do think you get a bit nervous or a bit awkward when there is a camera on you,” she explained.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BxKJoVMlHCA/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BxKJoVMlHCA/" target="_blank">We're delighted to welcome goddess of the kitchen, Nigella Lawson, to the Masterchef kitchen next week! 👩🍳 🥘 🥗 ❤ #MasterChefAU</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/masterchefau/" target="_blank"> MasterChef Australia</a> (@masterchefau) on May 7, 2019 at 3:51am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Nigella went into detail about her success in Australia, following her appearances on the Australian version of <em>MasterChef</em>.</p> <p>“I do like it as I like the people there. The programme has been going for 11 years,” she said.</p> <p>“They are very funny, Australians. I don’t go to America a great deal. I did for book tours, but America is a very greedy monster.</p> <p>“All they ever want to know is, ‘What are you going to do next?’ and ‘How much more are you going to do?’</p> <p>Nigella says that the pressure isn’t something that she wants for her life.</p> <p>“It is not what I want to do. If I wanted to go and work non-stop and do that I would go there.</p> <p>"I like lying about and reading books and drinking tea as well, so I don’t want a life which just becomes about making television programmes.”</p>

Mind

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Radio star sells luxury Sydney home for $2.4 million to famous chef

<p>Radio personality Michael “Wippa” Wipfli and his wife Lisa have sold their beautiful, quaint property in Queens Park, Sydney, to move up the hill to Vaucluse.</p> <p>The Nova radio host, who works alongside his partner in crime Fitzy on their popular breakfast show, officially sold the property for a staggering $2.4 million.</p> <p>The Queens Park home has reportedly been sold to famous chef Nigel Ward, according to <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/michael-wippa-wipfli-scores-2-4m-queens-park-sale-to-chef-nigel-ward-849739/" target="_blank">Domain</a>.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/ByUpHmDAWvZ/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ByUpHmDAWvZ/" target="_blank">A post shared by Fitzy &amp; Wippa on Nova (@fitzyandwippa)</a> on Jun 5, 2019 at 2:10am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The home both Wippa and his wife Lisa have owned since 2014 is an architect-designed property which boasts four bedrooms, two bathrooms and was originally purchased for $1.87 million.</p> <p>The Queens Park house went on the market last month for $2.5 million, however, dropped to $2.3 million after it struggled to attract a buyer.</p> <p>The large deck is a standout which the couple spent time remodelling to perfection. Close by, a Caesarstone kitchen with island bench comes in partnership with ultra-modern appliances that would make anyone feel like a professional chef when cooking.</p> <p>Located in the Eastern Suburbs, the pad was built in the 1920s and in addition to a spacious, comfortable bottom floor, the owner added a second storey to the home to create even more space and luxury feel.</p> <p>Scroll through the gallery above to see inside the former home of Wippa.</p>

Home & Garden

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Nigella Lawson reveals: “I couldn’t cope on MasterChef!”

<p>For three seasons now, domestic goddess Nigella Lawson has appeared on<span> </span><em>MasterChef Australia</em><span> </span>coaching and guiding the contestants to success.</p> <p>But despite the number of accolades under her belt, the queen of the kitchen who is due to appear on the show on Sunday, doesn’t think she would make it through the competition due to the immense amount of pressure.</p> <p>“I don’t think I could cope with the pressure,” she tells<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nowtolove.com.au/reality-tv/masterchef/masterchef-australia-nigella-lawson-2019-55522" target="_blank"><em>TV WEEK</em></a>. “I can deal with pressure in general, and need to write under pressure, but I cannot cook under pressure!”</p> <p>The 59-year-old doesn’t think she has what it takes to become a<span> </span><em>MasterChef<span> </span></em>winner.</p> <p>“I think the most important basic requirement is an excellent palate,” she said when asked how contestants can take home the top prize.</p> <p>“Also, to blossom rather than wilt under pressure, and the ability to be able to bounce back from failure and to learn from mistakes, not be dragged down by them.”</p> <p><span>On the other end of the spectrum, Matt, George and Gary admit that their job is easy even though they’re in a high-pressure environment.</span></p> <p>Speaking to<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nowtolove.com.au/reality-tv/masterchef/masterchef-australia-nigella-lawson-2019-55522" target="_blank"><em>TV WEEK</em></a>, Matt Preston said that he “loves” the job.</p> <p>“We’re not doing it for the money, let’s be honest,” he said. “If you love your job, then you’re never going to work a day in your life.”</p> <p>The ever-so-stylish food critic says he’s thankful for the experience, despite the intense film schedule.</p> <p>“Yes, we work long and we work hard, but at the end of the day it’s a privilege to be on the show,” he said.</p> <p><em>MasterChef Australia</em><span> </span>airs Monday to Thursday, and Sunday, 7:30 pm on Channel 10.</p>

TV

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The choc chip cookies you need to try

<p>Have you ever craved a lighter, fluffier, more aesthetically pleasing version of chocolate chip cookies for a snack? Nigel Slater, an English food writer, journalist, broadcaster and chef, says these gorgeous looking treats will get you through those meals where you crave a sweet dessert afterwards.</p> <p>“The best moment to eat these soft cookies is when they are still warm, when the butterscotch notes of the brown sugar is still evident and the chocolate chips haven’t quite set,” he wrote in <em>The Guardian</em>. Have a peak below and see if you would like to try these out for yourselves.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7823982/gettyimages-958512822.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/1c55f900fcf74f2e9cf09712a3c09dde" /></p> <p><strong>Ingredients </strong></p> <ul> <li>125g butter</li> <li>75g light muscovado sugar</li> <li>75g caster sugar</li> <li>1 egg</li> <li>250g plain flour</li> <li>½ tsp bicarbonate of soda</li> <li>20g crystallised rose petals</li> <li>200g marzipan</li> <li>150g dark chocolate</li> <li>Vanilla extract</li> </ul> <p><strong>Method </strong></p> <p>1. Set oven to 200 degrees celsius.</p> <p>2. Cream butter and sugars together until the texture is light and the colour resembles a light brown.</p> <p>3. Break egg into bowl and mix the yolk and egg white together with a fork, then combine with butter and sugar mixture.</p> <p>4. Mix flour and bicarbonate soda and fold into creamed butter and sugar mix.</p> <p>5. Finely chop rose petals. Cut marzipan into small bits and pieces then add to mixture.</p> <p>6. Cut chocolate into small pieces then fold cookie dough with vanilla extract (your desired amount).</p> <p>7. Roll mixture into small balls and set on baking paper.</p> <p>8. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until pale and risen.</p> <p>9. Allow 5 minutes to cool.</p> <p>10. Makes 18 cookies.</p> <p>Will you try this classy take on chocolate chip cookies? Let us know in the comments below.</p>

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Nigella Lawson's surprising confession about MasterChef: “I’m just not that kind of person"

<p>In honour of <em>MasterChef Australia</em>’s 10-year celebratory season, the show has lined up world-class guest judges, including Nigella Lawson.</p> <p>While she was excited to be on the show, the 58-year-old culinary queen admitted that reality TV wasn’t for her.</p> <p>"I would never have wanted to be a contestant [on <em>MasterChef Australia</em>]," Nigella told <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="https://www.nowtolove.com.au/tvweek" target="_blank">TV WEEK</a></em></strong></span>. "I'm just not that kind of person."</p> <p>However, the British personality said that she loves working alongside judges George Calombaris, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan.</p> <p>"I find it a real honour – and they're a real hoot altogether," Nigella said. </p> <p>"They can start behaving like naughty schoolboys, but it's like being surrounded by lovely brothers."</p> <p>Nigella revealed that during her episode, one person’s dish caused division among the judges. </p> <p>"I've had a disagreement about one particular dish with all three of them," she said.</p> <p>Nigella praised this year’s batch of contestants, who took her by surprise with their level of skill.</p> <p>“They're the most talented yet. I couldn't believe how wonderful the food was so early in the competition."</p> <p>Former contestant Hayden Quinn also revealed how impressed he was with the level of competition on the show now.</p> <p>"These days you look at the calibre of people on the show, it's amazing," he said.</p> <p>"If I went on this year, I wouldn't even make it through the first selection process. It's incredible."</p>

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MasterChef judge George Calombaris dishes on cooking dinner for Nigella Lawson

<p>MasterChef judge George Calombaris has dished on his night with Nigella Lawson and the awkward moment that made the celebrity chef blush.</p> <p><a href="https://www.nowtolove.com.au/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Now to Love reports</strong></em></span></a> that on Friday’s episode of the Living Room, Amanda Keller interviewed Calombaris about the night his and his wife had Lawson over for dinner.</p> <p>"The first year we had Nigella on, I turned around and said 'come over on Sunday, and I'll cook for you at my house.,'" George said,</p> <p>"And then I forgot! On Sunday morning I got a text message from her saying 'what time should I come over tonight?' and I've just gone what do I cook? I shouldn't be panicking!!".</p> <p>"I remember cooking her osso buco and just really just sort of comforting dishes."</p> <p>But it’s what happened next that made Nigella blush.</p> <p>"There was this moment when we were standing around the kitchen bench, and I was mixing this salad, and I've gone to Natalie (his partner) 'What is this bowl? I've never seen this before.'"</p> <p>"And Nigella blushed, and Nat's giggling, and I went 'what's going on?', and then I lifted the bowl, and said 'oh my gosh!' It was a Nigella bowl."</p> <p><a href="https://www.nowtolove.com.au/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Now to Love reports</strong></em></span></a> Natalie had gotten the dish out of the cupboard knowing Nigella was coming around for dinner, but George didn’t even know they owned one.</p> <p>Are you a Masterchef fan?</p>

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Nigella Lawson: "How I healed after heartbreak"

<p>Nigella Lawson has forged out a career as one of the world’s most popular celebrity chefs, but most people don’t realise that she’s encountered more than her fair share of heartbreak.</p> <p>In an <a href="https://www.nowtolove.com.au/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>interview with Now to Love</strong></em></span></a>, the celebrity chef explained how her culinary pursuits had helped her deal with the passing of her sister Thomasina, who died tragically young at 31 from breast cancer in 1993.</p> <p>"I like cooking with people who know me well and know my kitchen well," she explains.</p> <p>"I used to love cooking with my sister, Thomasina. I loved cooking for her and with her and just talking to her while I cooked."</p> <p>"I have a very good friend and we sometimes cook together. It's a lovely thing to do," she says.</p> <p>"I also think it's a wonderful way of talking with people generally. A lot of people are more comfortable talking when your attention is a bit elsewhere.</p> <p>"It's rather like the way people sometimes feel they have important conversations while they're driving. People are more relaxed when you haven't got full-beam on them. So I quite like chatting while I cook. The other person doesn't need to be cooking with me. Sometimes they can just be there, having a glass of wine while I'm chopping and stirring and unwinding. I like that."</p> <p>Nigella’s first husband, journalist John Diamond, was also taken by cancer before his time.</p> <p>"I don't want to waste life," she says.</p> <p>"It feels so ungrateful not to take pleasure. You have to take pleasure in life while you can because people have that ripped away from them."</p> <p>"One of the reasons I like cooking is that it forces me into the moment, and that's good," she adds.</p> <p>What are your thoughts?</p>

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The awkward moment you missed between Samantha Armytage and Nigella Lawson

<p>Nigella Lawson has had an awkward interaction with Samantha Armytage during an interview on <em>Sunrise</em> to promote the celebrity chef’s Australian tour.</p> <p>The 58-year-old looked oddly uncomfortable in her appearance on the program, which started with Armytage’s co-host David Koch praising her love of ‘naughty’ foods, despite the apparent health food craze that seems to be sweeping the globe.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FSunrise%2Fvideos%2F10155151809630887%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p> <p>“There are lots of trends today to suggest that butter is good for you,” Nigella said.</p> <p>“The point is if you eat a balanced diet and have a healthy relationship with food nothing is necessarily bad for you. I like every food stuff in the world.”</p> <p>But Armytage was quick to redirect the line of questioning.</p> <p>“Let me ask you a genuine question now,” she interrupted.</p> <p>“Oh, you're saying that wasn't a genuine question?” Lawson responded, somewhat perplexed.</p> <p>Earlier in the interview, Armytage elicited a similarly hesitant response from Lawson when she asked if her friends were nervous about cooking for her. Lawson explained that her friends don’t see her as a celebrity chef, rather a companion.</p> <p>“I'm not that person to them,” she said.   </p> <p>Lawson is currently touring Australia to promote her book, <em>At My Table</em>.</p> <p>Did you catch the interview on <em>Sunrise</em>? Were you shocked with how awkward it was? </p>

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The moment The Project hosts offended Nigella Lawson

<p>Popular TV chef Nigella Lawson didn’t hide her feelings last night when, during an appearance on Channel Ten’s <em>The Project</em>, she was asked a “tasteless” question.</p> <p>Things became heated when co-host Hamish Macdonald asked the 58-year-old Brit about dropping innuendos in her cooking shows.</p> <p>“I was really intrigued to read you rejecting all of the analysis of your cooking shows,” Macdonald said to Lawson. “All these kind of innuendo, you saying, ‘I don’t do it on purpose, it’s not part of the plan.’</p> <p>“But I’ve got some quotes,” he says, before reeling off some of Lawson’s memorable lines. “My empty vessels are ready to be loaded. I adore the way it comes bulging over the rims.”</p> <p>However, while this elicited some giggles from the panel (and the audience), Lawson wasn’t liking it one bit.</p> <p>“No, no, no, no, but why, why, tell me this ... why?” she asked, visibly annoyed.</p> <p>“You have this way of saying things,” Macdonald replied.</p> <p>“I have this way of people projecting things on me,” Lawson corrected him. “I don’t get it. I need you to explain to me.”</p> <p>To see the tense moment, skip to 4:00 below.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FTheProjectTV%2Fvideos%2F10155240980413441%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p> <p>Social media users were quick to dub the interview “awkward” and the question as “tasteless”.</p> <p>“Nigella was great, then at the end, the blonde guy (no idea who he is, Hamish?) makes a senseless sexual innuendo about her commentary on her shows,” one viewer wrote on the program’s Facebook page. “Tasteless end to what should have been a great interview.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Uh oh <a href="https://twitter.com/hamishNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@hamishnews</a> obviously didn’t do his research on <a href="https://twitter.com/Nigella_Lawson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Nigella_Lawson</a>. Well known she hates the innuendo questions <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheProjectTV?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheProjectTV</a></p> — Mich (@SurfBumMich) <a href="https://twitter.com/SurfBumMich/status/953197937831456768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2018</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hamishNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@hamishNews</a> hope you had fun talking to <a href="https://twitter.com/Nigella_Lawson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Nigella_Lawson</a>, cause that’ll be the last time she’ll come on <a href="https://twitter.com/theprojecttv?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@theprojecttv</a>. Bit rude. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheProjectTV?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheProjectTV</a></p> — McSuave (@SirMcSuave) <a href="https://twitter.com/SirMcSuave/status/953182618798891008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2018</a></blockquote> <p>Several people pointed out that, had Macdonald done a bit of research, he would know just how much Lawson dislikes accusations that she’s making sexual innuendos on purpose.</p> <p>“Certainly, I feel that I have an intimate style of talking and have been made aware that can be construed as coquettishness,” she told a reporter in 2014. “But believe me, I have nothing of the coquette about me. And when I’m told that I am full of innuendo, I am mystified. I am the least salacious person.”</p> <p>Tell us in the comments below, did you think the question was tasteless? Or was Hamish Macdonald just having a bit of fun?</p>

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Nigella Lawson angers Italians with her controversial recipe

<p>Beloved British chef Nigella Lawson has come under fire for her new recipe for carbonara.</p> <p>After she shared her carbonara recipe on her Facebook page, Italians flocked to her page to express their disgust at the recipe.</p> <p>She’s been told that her cookery is a "disgrace" and she may as well "make it with turkey twizzlers" after posting the “controversial” recipe which contains nutmeg, wine and cream.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FNigellaLawson%2Fposts%2F10155401156762480%3A0&amp;width=500" width="500" height="696" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></p> <p>Ms Lawson wrote: "I think spaghetti carbonara is what Meryl Streep cooks for Jack Nicholson in the film version of one of my favourite books, ‘Heartburn’, and it is so right, for that chin-dripping, love-soaked primal feast, the first time someone actually stays through the night."</p> <p>But people were not impressed with one Italian fuming: “Nigella you are a wonderful woman but your recipes are the DEATH of Italian recipes, literally! NO CREAM IN CARBONARA NEVER, only eggs.”</p> <p>Another Italian commented: "This is a recipe of yours, it's not Carbonara. No wine, no cream and egg yolks only in Italian real Carbonara.”</p> <p>Someone else said while the recipe was delicious, it was not carbonara: "It is dee-licious, really. Heavy but heavenly tasting. But it is not Carbonara. Using a name of a well-known recipe, adjusting the original ingredients to one's own taste and even adding others just creates confusion and wrong taste expectations. Yes, we take food very seriously."<strong><br /></strong></p> <p><strong><a href="https://www.nigella.com/recipes/spaghetti-alla-carbonara" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Nigella's Carbonara recipe</span></a></strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Ingredients:</span></p> <ul> <li class="listBackground">500 grams spaghetti</li> <li class="listBackground">275 grams cubed pancetta (or lardons)</li> <li class="listBackground">2 teaspoons olive oil</li> <li class="listBackground">60 millilitres dry white wine (or vermouth)</li> <li class="listBackground">4 large eggs</li> <li class="listBackground">50 grams parmesan cheese (freshly grated)</li> <li class="listBackground">black pepper</li> <li class="listBackground">60 millilitres double cream</li> <li class="listBackground">freshly grated nutmeg</li> </ul> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Method:</span></p> <p>1. Put a large pan of salted water on to boil for the pasta. Cut the pancetta into 1 x 1.5cm / ½ x ¼ inch cubes. If the pancetta has its rind on, cut it off - and use a bigger piece of pancetta, as the amount I've specified is for the prepared cubes - and put the rind in a pan with a film of oil and cook it gently to render down.</p> <p>2. Then in a large pan that will fit the pasta later, cook the pancetta cubes in the oil until crispy but not crunchy. Chuck over them the white wine or vermouth and let it bubble away so that, after a few minutes, you have a small amount of salty winey syrup left. Take the pan off the heat.</p> <p>3. In a bowl, beat together the eggs, Parmesan, cream and some pepper. Cook the pasta more or less according to the packet instructions, but since you want it kept al dente start checking it 2 minutes before the wrapper says it's done. Lower in a cup and remove approximately 125ml / ½ cup of the pasta water before draining. Put the other pan, the one with the bacon cubes, on the heat and add the drained pasta, tossing well to coat with the syrupy pancetta. Add a little of the reserved pasta water to lubricate if necessary.</p> <p>4. Take the pan off the heat again and add the eggs and cheese mixture, swiftly tossing everything to mix. Grind over some more pepper and grate over the nutmeg, carry proudly aloft, and dive in.</p> <p>What do you think of the controversy? Share your opinion with us in the comments below.</p> <p> </p>

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