LITERATURE + LECTURES

Blue Willow Bookshop presents  Nigella Lawson.   Get a head start on your Christmas cheer when Nigella Lawson visits. Nigella will be here to chat about and sign her newest book, Nigella Christmas, a great gift for you or a friend! As we anticipate this will be a well-attended event, be sure to check back at this website for any event details.

Christmas is a time for family and friends, for tradition and treats. But, let’s face it, when the pressure to feed and entertain builds up, the festive season can begin to lose its sparkle… That’s where Nigella comes in. With her no-nonsense approach, her inspirational ideas and empathy for the practical realities of the season - combined here with reliable easy-to-follow recipes and reassuring advice about planning and cooking ahead - Nigella Christmas is guaranteed to bring comfort and joy and make sure the season of good will stays that way.

Here is everything you could wish for to make your life and your Christmas easy and enjoyable: from party canapés, cocktails and manageable mass catering to scrumptious Christmas cakes and puddings; from no-fuss brunch to quick and easy homemade presents (chutneys, preserves and other delectable standbys) and edible tree-decorations. There are mouthwatering recipes with a seasonal twist and simple menus for feeding friends over the extended holiday season with minimum stress and maximum enjoyment. And, of course, exciting and inspiring variations for the Main Event itself - from her traditional super-juicy turkey with all the trimmings, to festive ginger-glazed ham and the Ultimate Christmas Pud; from goose, rib of beef, stuffed rolled pork, all the way to a special vegetarian Christmas feast, a chocolate pudding for Christmas pudding haters, a French Yule Log, Australian Christmas Pud and the Boozy British Trifle.

Nigella’s cakes, as always, gladden the heart - and, like many of the recipes here, are at home all year round - but her ‘At-a-Glance Christmas Dinner Countdown’, together with make ahead and freeze ahead tips throughout, can help take the stress and strain out of the season. With its glorious illustrations, Nigella Christmas will surely be a perennial favourite, the book we will all reach for - for inspiration and reassurance - as soon as Christmas comes round each year.

Nigella Lucy Lawson (born 6 January 1960) is an English food writer, journalist and broadcaster. Lawson was born to Nigel Lawson, a former Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Vanessa Salmon, whose family owned the J. Lyons and Co. empire. After graduating from the University of Oxford, Lawson started to work as a book reviewer and restaurant critic, later becoming the deputy literary editor of The Sunday Times in 1986. She then embarked upon a career as a freelance journalist, writing for a number of newspapers and magazines.

In 1998, Lawson brought out her first cookery book, How to Eat, which sold 300,000 copies and became a bestseller. She went on to write her second book in 2000, How to be a Domestic Goddess, winning her the British Book Award for Author of The Year.

Lawson's career underwent a significant change in 2000 when she began to host her own cookery series on Channel 4, Nigella Bites, which was accompanied with another bestselling cookery book. The Nigella Bites series proved to be successful, winning Lawson a Guild of Food Writers Award, however her 2005 ITV daytime chat show was met with a negative critical reaction and was cancelled after attracting low ratings.

In the United States in 2006, Lawson hosted the Food Network's Nigella Feasts, followed by a three-part BBC Two series, Nigella's Christmas Kitchen, in the United Kingdom. This led to the commissioning of Nigella Express on BBC Two in 2007. Her own cookware range, Living Kitchen, has a value of £7 million, and she has sold more than three million cookery books worldwide.

Renowned for her flirtatious manner of presenting, Lawson has been called the "queen of food porn". She is neither a trained chef nor cook, and has assumed a distinctly relaxed approach to her cooking. Lawson has demonstrated influence as a food commentator, after some products used on her shows saw their sales figures increase.

This event is free and open to the public. However, if you would like to go through the signing line and meet Nigella Lawson, you must purchase Nigella Christmas from Blue Willow Bookshop.