Nadiya Hussain has undoubtedly become Bake Off's golden child since being crowned the Bake Off Queen in 2015. She won the hearts of the Nation with her open and honest personality and talent in the kitchen. But, my biggest question when stepping into the events marquee at Bolton Food Festival was; could it just be a front? Could this happy and endearing woman we sat and watched on our tellies just be an exaggerated personality designed for the screens?
However, as soon as she stepped foot onto the demonstration stage I felt guilty for ever even contemplating it. Nadiya was just as sweet as her bakes and hilarious to boot. As she cooked her mother's Chicken Korma she regaled us with stories of her spice obsessed father and her budding critic children. Despite her talking to a marquee full to bursting it felt like she was speaking to each of us individually and as easily as if we were sat in her home kitchen for a natter whilst she cooked.
(Every seat was taken)
Whilst Nadiya cooked the tent began to fill with wonderful smells of creamy spices and freshly baked goods. Needless to say, and I doubt I'm alone in it, I began to fantasise about sneaking off with a plate of authentic, bubbling curry or a few palmier biscuits to nibble. In fact, whilst I was up taking pictures of the end results a sneaky man took a taste of the curry. Yes, that's right, I saw you and your dipping finger. Naughty.
She even shone some light onto the apparent phenomenon of boiled eggs in curry, an ingredient I have personally appalled flatmates with. It all became clear when she informed us she was just one of forty plus grandchildren and the eggs padded out a curry to keep the costs down. So there you have it, eggs in the curry for a very logical and Nadiya certified reason.
(Chicken Korma with an egg)
In her demonstration Nadiya talked us through her mother's chicken korma, that "isn't like the ones you get in a restaurant here...like it tastes good", her Palmiers and cherry Bakewell Macaroons. One thing she emphasised when it came to their inclusions in her cookbook was that she wanted only recipes where very ingredient could be found in the major supermarkets. She wanted the whole book to be suitable for everyone to cook from without the need of specialist markets. I think that should sum up her personality perfectly.
And of course, it wouldn't be a demonstration from Nadiya without a little chatter about her time in the bake-off tent. Paul Hollywood was a major topic as she rolled out the ready-made pastry for her Palmer biscuits. "No I did not make the pastry myself" Nadiya exclaimed, "I'm being professional and rolling it out myself, but let's be honest, the shop bought stuff is perfectly fine. And you can all tweet Paul Hollywood and tell him I'm not using handmade pastry; see if I care!" It gained lots of laughter, it seems Nadiya hasn't lost the fire when it comes to Bake-off's critical judge.
(Very tempting Macaroons)
I was amazed but not surprised to see the sheer diversity of the audience who turned out to see Nadiya compared to what I saw in other demonstrations. Every seat was filled and the marquee was near bursting, with ages ranging from young children to OAPs and pretty much every ethnicity available in Bolton. And everyone was enraptured with Nadiya but all too soon was it over. In the space of what felt like 5 minutes the 45-minute slot had passed and we were having to bid our host goodbye. The applause roared for Nadiya as she waved and trotted away with a beaming smile before practically the entire marquee queued up for the book-signings.
All in all, it was a fantastic demonstration to see and if you ever get the chance to see her again, take it!