Behold Nigella Lawson: creamy skin, almond eyes and the best set of manicured brows since Audrey Hepburn. We caught up with her to find out how the domestic goddess entertains for the holidays.

What do you always have on your table at Christmas? 
I do have a ham. I often do the ham on Christmas Eve, but if I have lots of people over I do a ham and a turkey. I’m very traditional, you know, so it’s Brussels sprouts, chestnuts, roast potatoes and roast parsnips. But remember that you’ve got the glorious sunshine at Christmas (in Australia) and we’ve got eternal darkness.

What about dessert? Is it a pudding? 
I have to have a bit of Australia, so I sometimes have a pav. But I love Christmas pudding, and I also do something I call ‘Christmas pudding for Christmas pudding haters’. It’s a steamed chocolate pudding in the same shape.

In what other ways have your visits to Australia inspired your approach to cooking?
I’ve been very influenced by Australian food. It kind of meshes with my feeling of it being very honest and bold and direct and not pretentious.

Do you cook in the days after Christmas? 
For me it’s all about the chutneys, it’s all about the leftovers. I will use the leftover roast turkey and turn it into a light Asian salad with rice noodles and fish sauce.

What role do you think food plays at Christmas?
I think that in the end, even if people cook differently or have different ingredients, we are all united by food. Food is celebration…it’s a celebration of life but also the everyday.

Do you tend to stick to recipes or make up your own?
It depends on who’s coming round and how many I’ve got, sometimes my children aren’t there and sometimes there’s 17 of them and I find that makes me come up with new things but sometimes I return to my old favourites too. I don’t want to reinvent the wheel. Sometimes you just want a roast chicken. Of course, you can add other things to it, you can do it in a different way or with different spices, sometimes I just do it the way my mother did with a lemon in it and butter. You must never ever strive for originality for its own sake.

Do you always host or are you ever the guest? 
I mostly host but sometimes I do it with my sister or with a friend. Companionable cooking is really great at Christmas. Often I do it at my house but it’s a group effort, and I say to people ‘Can you bring that?’ One year, with 35 people, I couldn’t actually fit things in. There are mismatched chairs, and some people sitting on stools.

What about party hats? Yes or no?
No, no I do wigs. Cheap wigs. You wouldn’t want to be near a naked flame. I go Scandinavian blonde obviously, but sometimes a pink bob.

What’s your tipple of choice for the holidays?
I do a cocktail, which I call a poinsettia, with a nice prosecco, Grand Marnier and cranberry juice. Sometimes I switch it up and I use an apricot brandy.

For more on Nigella Lawson see, here.