We went to see Nigella Lawson talk to Annabel Crabb earlier this year at the Sydney Opera House as part of their Ideas at the House program, sponsored by Lifestyle Food. We fell a bit in love and learned a lot.

True to form, the 56-year-old had guests in awe during her one-off Sydney appearance. The conversation was a kitchen-table confession, served with a side of humour. Fans applauded, laughed and even drew tears as the home cook discussed her life, her latest book and television show, Simply Nigella. Here’s what made us think and swoon.

1. Nigella Lawson hates being called the ‘Domestic Goddess,’ but admits that it’s her own doing. You’ll always be some kind of goddess to us though, Nigella.
2. She’s a self-diagnosed “toursimaniac” after developing an obsession with pickling everything in sight. “I feel this great need to pickle at the moment.”
3. She should be the unofficial face of tinned and frozen food, firmly believing in food “that’s not always top drawer”. We can see why Nigel Slater once crowned her “the Queen of Frozen Peas”.
4. She loves a good kitchen gadget and is desperately searching for a julienne attachment for her food processor. Nigella, have you seen this one?
5. She’s a very nosey person and loves to talk to other people in the public about what they’re eating despite “[them] only ever wanting to take photographs when [she] doesn’t have any make up on.” Now we don’t feel so bad stalking you earlier.
6. Not only is she a writer, journalist and cook she’s also a philosopher: “I have a theory about life, which is that people who often work the hardest are naturally the laziest because we know that unless we really drive ourselves we would be very happily laying in bed reading novels, drinking cups of tea, eating toast or the odd bowl of spaghetti.” Sounds like our kind of philosophy.
7. Nigella considers herself to be one of those lazy people but admits she has two speeds, “full-pelt or almost comatose” and will always take to laying down over the option of sitting down. Cue memories of Nigella eating spaghetti carbonara out of the saucepan in bed on her food show some time back, an image forever forged in our memories.
8. She eats in bed. A lot. “On the weekends I go down and cook for myself and I enjoy that and occasionally I do sit at a table and I feel immensely pleased with myself. and then more often than not I will drag my food back to my cave.”
9. She keeps condiments at her bedside. Gush. “English mustard, Maldon salt, Tabasco, chilli- and soy sauce.” We say why not? It’s the perfect pairing to that luxury bed-linen obsession she also confessed to, right? Now we don’t feel so bad about the nightly dark-chocolate square in bed.
10. Drawing a collective jaw-drop from the audience was this nugget about scone eating. “Although I am more Cornish than Devonian I like the cream first because to me it’s like a version of butter and it’s much easier to put the jam on top. If you try and put the jam on first you then end up dragging the cream.”
11. Know those annoying foodies at dinner who have to say “No, no don’t touch it yet, I haven’t photographed it.” Well, she’s one of them. One of us! One of us!
12. Always chew parsley after garlic. Why? Because Nigella’s mother said so, that’s why.
13. Nigella confirms that contrary to popular opinion she does not “sit around and eat chocolate cake” all day long.
14. On a more serious note, she bestowed perhaps what is the best advice of all. “I don’t equate thinness necessarily with health.” After dealing with her mother’s struggle with food as well as coping with the death of both her first husband and sister to cancer she left with these closing notes: “at the base of it the human race is always looking for the Holy Grail, you know eternal life, but I always say you may as well enjoy eating in this one.” #Amen to that.