Nigella comes to Ely - 23rd October 2012

I'm sure it's no secret that I'm a fan of Nigella. The multiple posts about her recipes on this blog give that away, as does the fact that I have every one of her books and, unlike some people, love her television programs too.

So imagine my excitement when I discovered that she was going to be visiting a town near me for a talk and book signing event following the release of her new book Nigellissima: Instant Italian Inspiration. Let's just say I didn't wait long to book my place.

On the evening of October 23rd I and a large number of like-minded fans gathered in the glorious surroundings of Ely Cathedral to worship at the altar of Ms Lawson. We were greeted at the door with a very civilised glass of wine or elderflower fizz and I also had the good fortune to sneak a seat in the front row!

And I'm not being flippant when I say worship. Food is my religion. Something that brings so much joy (both from the creating and the eating), that brings people together to share something wonderful, deserves celebration and, yes, worship if you like. Nigella is one the few food writers, if not the only one, that really encapsulates so many of the things I love about cooking. She is not a chef. She doesn't spend hours in the kitchen making something look good in fact quite the reverse in many ways. I really associate with her desire to create something wonderful and yet at the same time simple and as unfussy as possible. 

Anyway, that's enough of that.

Nigella gave a very entertaining talk and answered lots of questions, sharing plenty of tips along the way. I loved how enthusiastic she was about Italy and italian food and I can't wait to try out some of the recipes in her book. A couple of comments that stuck in my head....

Aswell as being recipe books her books are..."...meant to be read and convey her thoughts about life..."

Talking about aspiring food writers..."...you need to have your own voice..."

"...if you needed to be an expert before entering the kitchen then humans would have died out long ago..."

(apologies for the poor photos, it never occurred to me to take my proper camera with me)

As I mentioned about there was an opportunity at the end to have your book signed by Nigella however as I already have her signature in another of her books I decided not to join the hordes in the lengthy queue!

I did manage a sneaky extra picture before I left though...

Thanks to Topping & Company Booksellers in Ely for putting on this event.