Nigella Lawson

1998–2002: Cookery writing and Nigella Bites

Though Lawson had an established sense of cooking from her childhood, having followed her mother who enjoyed to cook,[6] the idea for writing a cookery book was first conceived by Lawson after she had observed a dinner party host in tears due to an unset crème caramel. This prompted Lawson to realise that cooking should be an untraumatic time.[25] She subsequently wrote How to Eat in 1998,[8] which featured culinary tips on preparation and saving time.[25] The book became a success and sold 300,000 copies in the UK,[19] with The Sunday Telegraph dubbing it "The most valuable culinary guide published this decade".[26] Her interest in food was first evoked after a trip to Paris in her teens, after which time she saw food as a source of enjoyment.[27]

She then brought out a second bestselling book in 2000, How to be a Domestic Goddess, which focused primarily on baking,[11] and The Observer took on Lawson as a social affairs columnist.[8] The Times wrote, regarding the book and Lawson's approach to its writing, "How To Be a Domestic Goddess ... is defined by its intimate, companionable approach. She is not issuing matronly instructions like Delia; she is merely making sisterly suggestions".[6] Lawson rejected feminist criticism of her book,[28] and stated, "Some people did take the domestic goddess title literally rather than ironically. It was about the pleasures of feeling like one rather than actually being one".[3] The book sold 180,000 copies in four months,[25] and won Lawson the title of Author of The Year at the British Book Awards in 2001,[19] fending off competition from authors such as J. K. Rowling.[29] One commentator suggested she only won the award because her husband was about to die of cancer.[19] Lawson retorted, "I am not against pity, but I have no desire to be tragic".[19] How to Eat and How to be a Domestic Goddess were published in America in 2000 and 2001.[30]

Lawson next hosted her own cookery television series, Nigella Bites, which ran from 2000 to 2001 on Channel4,[31] followed by a Christmas special in 2001.[32] Victor Lewis-Smith, a critic notorious for his biting criticism, commended Lawson for being "formidably charismatic".[3] The first series of Nigella Bites averaged with 1.9 million viewers,[33] and won her the Television Broadcast of the Year at the Guild of Food Writers Awards,[34] and the Best Television Food Show at the World Food Media Awards in 2001.[35] The show yielded an accompanying bestselling recipe book, also called Nigella Bites,[36] of which Waterstone's book stores reported sales of 300,000 in Britain.[37] The book won a W H Smith Award for Lifestyle Book of the Year.[38]