Nigella Lawson reveals where she'll be eating while she's in Melbourne

There's no doubt Melbourne is excited to have English food queen Nigella Lawson in town.

Some 1800 guests at Friday's World's Longest Lunch event for Melbourne Food & Wine Festival tried their best to give the celebrity cook space to enjoy Attica chef Ben Shewry's menu at Treasury Gardens, while side-eyeing, almost-fainting and selfie-snapping with plenty of respectful glee.

Tickets to this weekend's two Lawson-led festival events were quick to sell out. On Saturday, she will chat about food and her life in the kitchen onstage with author Alice Zaslavsky, followed by a three-course Sunday Lunch with Nigella that costs $285.

Meanwhile, Lawson says she is delighted to return to Melbourne. This is her first big trip anywhere since the pandemic descended.

"It's thrilling," she says. "I can hardly believe it. From being in a small space for two years, it's amazing to be coming here, to feel the energy of all these creative and food-obsessed people, to be in the midst of the aliveness and vibrancy."

Melbourne feels like a fitting destination to shrug off stay-at-home sluggishness.

There is such joy in gathering around food here.

Nigella Lawson

"It's such a vibrant food city, so this is like having an intense hit of everything that's been absent for two years," she says.

"There is such joy in gathering around food here.

"It feels moving, almost like a blessing, as well as a kind of jubilation."

Lawson also wraps restaurant and event workers into her embrace. "Hospitality people have suffered quite a lot over the past two years. To have something that celebrates them and what they do, it must feel very significant for them also."

Beyond the joy, togetherness and a few Lune cruffins, Lawson is hoping for some practical benefit from her visit, particularly in terms of writing her next book.

"I have a few ideas on the back burner but I need to settle on the right one. I never want to do a book for the sake of it – you really have to be committed. But I've been feeling that the well is a bit dry.

"I need to feed on creativity and other people's food to replenish myself. I think I'll have a clearer idea of my next book after the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. It felt too dangerous to look forward to things before but now I'm ridiculously excited."

Nigella's food hit list for Melbourne

• Aru, CBD
• Gimlet, CBD
• Anchovy, Richmond
• Lune Croissanterie, CBD
• Pidapipo Gelateria, CBD

Melbourne Food & Wine Festival is on now until April 9; melbournefoodandwine.com.au