Nigella Lawson

“Cake is very important. It's a symbol of celebration and of love and of everything good.”

“You could probably get through life without knowing how to roast a chicken, but the question is, would you want to?”

“I think you have to be able to gratify yourself, and if you can't do that, what's the point of anything?”

“For me, the whole point of life is to have pleasure. And what is pleasure but the unexpected?”

“The kitchen, for me, is a place of solace, a place of meditation, and a place of creativity.”

“I don't believe in low-fat cooking.”

“Cooking is not about just joining the dots, it's about developing your own taste and confidence in the kitchen.”

“I don't diet. I just eat healthily in a way that I find delicious.”

“There's no need to be puritanical. I think you can have a bit of what you fancy.”

“I have an evangelical fervor for leftovers.”

“I hate the idea of being a domestic goddess. I'm a domestic slattern.”

“I think we all live in a world that is so fast-paced, it's a shame. For me, cooking is therapy.”

“I am not a chef. I am not even a trained cook. I am, as a home cook, a bit of a clumsy amateur.”

“I don't have a very disciplined mind; I'm very disorganized and need the structure of a recipe.”

“I'm not a great believer in self-denial. I don't see the point of it.”

“I believe that the food you cook is a way of expressing your love for the people you're cooking for.”