London - Her lingering looks, flirtatious manner and suggestive descriptions of food have made Nigella Lawson as much a sex symbol as a cook.
But on Sunday the Domestic Goddess insisted she was mystified by her reputation as a culinary coquette.
Lawson admitted finding eating sensual and talking about it in an intimate way, but the 54-year-old denied using innuendo to describe her dishes.
She said: “Certainly, I have an intimate style of talking and that can be construed as coquettishness. But believe me, I have nothing of the coquette about me.”
She claimed she was also singled out for her healthy appetite because women were still expected to eat daintily.
The TV chef and author added: “When I’m told I am full of innuendo, I am mystified. I am the least salacious person.
“I don’t know if that misconception is because women are still meant to be like Scarlett O’Hara and pick like a bird, and that somehow seeing a woman enjoy food and having an appetite is regarded as wanton lasciviousness.
“I’m not complaining. Food is sensual. But the conversation is still me, intimate and – like my cooking style – somewhat haphazard, as I am never scripted.”
However, she admitted some of her descriptions bordered on the provocative, telling Observer Food Monthly magazine: “Maybe I do sometimes go over the top. I have a nervous need to fill the silence.”
Lawson is planning a UK comeback following her US TV show The Taste. She revealed how she never follows a recipe at home, adding: “I’m certainly clumsy, and generally when I cook I don’t have a recipe.
“As for how the food looks – it’s messy, but for me messiness is beautiful.” - Daily Mail