Celebrity chef's witty response to man's unwanted cooking advice is as perfect as they come

Teaching an expert how to do their job is rarely a good idea, especially when you lack the expertise yourself. Yet, it happens all too often, especially when men attempt to "correct" women in areas they clearly dominate. Case in point: celebrity chef Nigella Lawson (@Nigella_Lawson) became the target of unsolicited advice from a stranger online. The beloved British TV personality didn’t take the “mansplaining” to heart but handled it gracefully, silencing her would-be critic, Tom Smith (@WGSeconbus on X), with a sharp and sweet fact-based reply.

It all started with Lawson sharing her “Recipe of the Day” with her 2.6 million followers. As part of the weekly routine, the celebrity chef emphasized making a slow-cooked black treacle ham amid the ongoing festive season. For the 64-year-old restaurant critic, nothing would ever replace her “Ham in Coca-Cola from Bites,” per her recipe, but this hot, juicy and tender meat dish can “make life easier” during the harsh weather.

“8 kilos of ham and 1 tin of black treacle going into the oven for 24 hours now!” Lawson wrote on the micro-blogging platform. She added that she would share the recipe for a smaller joint of ham soon. Notably, the celebrity chef’s post dates back to a couple of days before Christmas in 2018. She eagerly wanted her followers and food lovers to try the slow-baked ham with the thick, dark and viscous black treacle syrup, a common ingredient in British cooking.

Lawson attached a detailed blog post of the recipe, describing the dish as something that was “in my heart or on my table” at the time. Additionally, she called the slow-cooked black treacle ham a revelation of a “different sort,” with the specialty of the meat carving into thin slices with ease. The cooking expert was minding her own business by spreading the word about her dish, but little did she know that not everyone would take it well.

Enter Tom Smith, a self-styled journalist who couldn’t resist offering unsolicited advice to the celebrated chef. “Love this but....Surely you mean the fridge for 24 hours,” his provocative response read. Lawson paid attention to the man’s uninvited attempt to demean her cooking. “The fridge wouldn’t do a very good job of cooking it!” the chef sarcastically replied, making the stranger’s Christmas truly memorable. It prompted a variety of reactions from Lawson’s fans, who were clearly unhappy with the way Smith tried to “mansplain” to their favorite chef.

Among them, @StephanieEphani remarked, “I’m so concerned by ‘Love this, but...’. Is he suggesting he loves a cold, uncooked 8-kilos of ham with an entire tin of black treacle upturned on it? This man must be stopped.” “Did someone try to mansplain cooking to Nigella Lawson?” @camhty pointed out. @TomHulme79 added, “Imagine having an ego big enough to try and tell @Nigella_Lawson how to cook.” However, Smith soon realized his fault by stating he was “sorry” for his misconstrued gesture. “I will give this a go. Could not believe the length of time in the oven ...low temperature!?” the journalist said, continuing his antics.