I CAN see victory ahead, but I don’t like to jinx anything,” declares Nigella Lawson at the end of the first episode of her new reality show The Taste , which debuted in the United Kingdom.
Words drizzled not with extra-virgin olive oil, but deep irony. They were recorded when a new, rosier future beckoned for Lawson, after her very public divorce from Charles Saatchi.
But then came last month’s fraud trial of her former personal assistants, during which the jury was given lurid insights into the couple’s marriage and Lawson admitted to using cocaine and occasionally smoking cannabis in front of her children.
Can her career survive these revelations?
The Taste is proof of the pudding.
It’s Lawson’s first British television outing since the scandal. In the United States, where she is intent on establishing herself (a step Saatchi tried to block), the first series attracted mediocre viewing figures, but reviewers declared Lawson “charming and hot”.
A second series began last week on the ABC network and had a rapturous response on Twitter, with users calling Lawson “the best thing about prime time”.
The Taste’s first episode sees 25 professionals and amateur cooks compete to impress the three judges (Lawson, US chef Anthony Bourdain and “very French” chef Ludo Lefebvre) with just a single spoonful of food. “It’s all about the taste now,” Lawson primly informs viewers.
“It’s not about presentation or reputation,” chimes in “bad boy” Bourdain.
The show stands on the judges’ charisma.
While Bourdain and Lefebvre posture and bicker, 54-year-old Lawson provides her customary sex appeal.
There are endless shots of her heaving embonpoint under a figure-hugging blue dress, her bra strap coyly slipping from a shoulder, smoky eyes widening with delight and full, glossy lips opening to ingest spoonfuls.
There are also lashings of classic Lawson innuendo.
“It would be satisfying almost to the point of sinful gratification to beat Tony and Ludo,” she purrs.
“Instantly seductive”, she moans after a mouthful of ravioli, while a young male contestant is invited to join “Team Nigella” with a breathy: “I really want you.”
As the only woman judge, Lawson brings a vital feminine touch.
With her fellow judges, she’s a strict matron, slapping down their spats.
Bourdain adds: “She’s nice and she’s polite but there’s an iron fist beneath the velvet glove.”
With the contestants, however, Lawson’s all earthmother. After one contestant’s mishap causes Lawson to spill sweetcorn down her cleavage, she reassures him: “You couldn’t cope with the pressure, not everyone can.” On the basis of The Taste , Lawson’s coping abilities are more than fine. — The Sunday Telegraph
Proof is in the pudding – and she’s still irresistible
Words drizzled not with extra-virgin olive oil, but deep irony. They were recorded when a new, rosier future beckoned for Lawson, after her very public divorce from Charles Saatchi.
But then came last month’s fraud trial of her former personal assistants, during which the jury was given lurid insights into the couple’s marriage and Lawson admitted to using cocaine and occasionally smoking cannabis in front of her children.
Can her career survive these revelations?
The Taste is proof of the pudding.
It’s Lawson’s first British television outing since the scandal. In the United States, where she is intent on establishing herself (a step Saatchi tried to block), the first series attracted mediocre viewing figures, but reviewers declared Lawson “charming and hot”.
A second series began last week on the ABC network and had a rapturous response on Twitter, with users calling Lawson “the best thing about prime time”.
The Taste’s first episode sees 25 professionals and amateur cooks compete to impress the three judges (Lawson, US chef Anthony Bourdain and “very French” chef Ludo Lefebvre) with just a single spoonful of food. “It’s all about the taste now,” Lawson primly informs viewers.
“It’s not about presentation or reputation,” chimes in “bad boy” Bourdain.
The show stands on the judges’ charisma.
While Bourdain and Lefebvre posture and bicker, 54-year-old Lawson provides her customary sex appeal.
There are endless shots of her heaving embonpoint under a figure-hugging blue dress, her bra strap coyly slipping from a shoulder, smoky eyes widening with delight and full, glossy lips opening to ingest spoonfuls.
There are also lashings of classic Lawson innuendo.
“It would be satisfying almost to the point of sinful gratification to beat Tony and Ludo,” she purrs.
“Instantly seductive”, she moans after a mouthful of ravioli, while a young male contestant is invited to join “Team Nigella” with a breathy: “I really want you.”
As the only woman judge, Lawson brings a vital feminine touch.
With her fellow judges, she’s a strict matron, slapping down their spats.
Bourdain adds: “She’s nice and she’s polite but there’s an iron fist beneath the velvet glove.”
With the contestants, however, Lawson’s all earthmother. After one contestant’s mishap causes Lawson to spill sweetcorn down her cleavage, she reassures him: “You couldn’t cope with the pressure, not everyone can.” On the basis of The Taste , Lawson’s coping abilities are more than fine. — The Sunday Telegraph
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