This Is The Most Overrated Food Trend, According To Nigella Lawson

Part of Nigella Lawson's magic is her relatability. The cookbook author and television personality makes real food that real people eat, with exciting twists that are still approachable for the average home cook. The 20 most popular Nigella Lawson recipes published in The New York Times include crowd-pleasers like buttermilk roast chicken, penne alla vodka, chicken noodle soup, and chocolate cake, making it clear that Lawson's modus operandi is all about making beautiful meals from accessible things. 

It may not surprise her fans that Lawson has pristine yet simple taste — this food writer doesn't need fancy meals all the time. In an interview with The Guardian, Lawson said that in nights off from cooking or eating out, she's "ecstatically happy with bread and cheese, or, frankly, just bread and butter, or a beautiful, creamy-fleshed smoked mackerel from Rex the fishmonger (so very different from the fillets that come vacuum-packed) with some fierce horseradish sauce." Lawson also revealed one food trend that she doesn't quite understand, even though many food celebrities and high end chefs can't get enough of it.

Often shaved in small quantities over dishes at fine dining restaurants, truffles are sought-after prizes that can run from $400 to $1,000 per pound (via Truffle.farm). Chefs all over the world pay top dollar to track down these earthy-tasting delights in order to make their entrees sing (via CNBC). 

Black truffles might not be worth all this fuss, though, according to Lawson. When asked about "overrated" food trends, Lawson told The Guardian, "I don't hate them, but they rarely taste of anything more than mildly scented bark to me ... Mostly they seem to me to do no more than confer a certain smugly celebrated luxury status."

It should be noted that Lawson was hesitant to label anything as overrated. "Personal taste is no more than that: if you like a foodstuff I don't, I'm not sure it makes sense for me to see it as overrated," she explains to The Guardian. The discomfort with essentially yucking someone's yum is just what we would expect from a celebrity who's open about things we all experience and feel, like pandemic boredom and dining solo. If anything, this just makes Lawson's opinion even more relatable. Truffles are great if you love them, but if they taste like "mildly scented bark" to you, too, there's no pressure to spend that serious cash.