Nigella Lawson's Controversial Mince Pie Topping Keeps Me Up At Night

Don’t get me wrong ― I’m not against putting a novel twist on traditional recipes. 

For instance, I’m a huge fan of Mary Berry’s unusual cottage pie topping and Nigella Lawson’s endlessly gingery version of carrot cake.

But sometimes, as with Gordon Ramsay’s veg-based chocolate mousse, I simply have to draw the line ― or at least seriously question my culinary heroes. 

Much as I love Nigella, I fear she’s treading a little too close to that point of no return with her favourite mince pie topping, which I can only describe as diabolical. 

To be fair, I’ve never tried it ― but then I’ve never given gravy-covered mango ice lollies a go either. Some things just feel wrong.

What is it?

Speaking on the One Show last year, the chef says she likes Christmas cake with cheese. 

There’s nothing wrong with that, in my opinion ― I’ve never had that exact pairing, but I love Jamaican bun and cheese which is basically the same thing.

“Even though I am a soft southerner, I am very much with the north on this,” she said of the classic combo (the tradition is often upheld in Yorkshire). 

So far, so forgivable.

After all, if you’d eat some Gorgonzola with pear and crackers, it’s not really much of a leap to go with Wensleydale or Lancashire cheese (which she recommends as a pairing) and fruit cake. 

But her following X post tipped me over the edge; “Cheese works well with mince pies too,” a (malicious) commenter wrote under The One Show’s X post. 

“Absolutely!” Nigella replied, seemingly on purpose. 

When did that all start?

An 1871 book called Studies In Nidderdale (an old word for Yorkshire) reads: “On Christmas Eve one Yule Cake is given to each member of the family, along with a piece of Christmas cheese. As a rule, part of it is left for Christmas morning, and eaten at the breakfast.”

It’s not the only sweet-savoury combo in history too; Charles Dickens wrote of a cheese and apple pie, “The tang of cheese lifts the sweet and lightly spiced apples into new realms of pudding heaven.” 

Gransnet commenters were appalled at the prospect of Waitrose’s cheesy mince pie in 2022 however. 

While I think I’m with them, I guess I’ll give it a go at least once (the things we do for journalism...).