A weird one from my search-engine slush-pile “Nigel Slater gay?”
Well, yes, he is. You’d have to have been living in a cave for the last decade or so not to know this – it’s been blindingly obvious in his writing, in the Observer more so than his books, and “revealed” in his autobiography, Toast. And yet, gay though he is, he clearly fancied Nigella Lawson something rotten when they shared a TV series. And why not… You’d have to be dead not to.
But, so what? Why does it matter to people? The only contact most people have with Slater is through his writing – writing of immense charm, incidentally if, at times, a tad precious – and his sexuality, like his religion or his preference in socks, is entirely irrelevant. It’s also no-one else’s business, and I’m only writing this because it’s already in the public domain. I certainly wouldn’t out him.
Mind you, I had a run-in with a psycho commenter who thought it was a mortal insult to accuse me of being gay! No I’m not, babe, I’m straight, with entertaining quirks, and calling me gay fazes me not at all. Like Slater, I’m perfectly comfortable with my sexuality, and school-yard insults are just wasted effort.
Talking of writers who might be gay, though, I always assumed Tim Atkin, the Observer’s wine writer, was gay – then he fooled me by getting married. To a woman – gasp! Just goes to show – you can’t judge by appearances.
This post has been one of the most popular recently. But why?
You’d have to be living on Mars not to know Nigel is gay – it has, as I said, been obvious for years. So why is it such a big deal? Why are so many of you interested? And why does it matter?
Please, tell me – I’d love to know. Seriously.
Well, I’ve been wondering for a while too – and now my suspicions have been confirmed I can relax! It’s true, it matters not one jot but we like to feel that our perceptions are accurate, check our ability to read our world especially if the signs are on a more subtle level.
I didn’t know that Nigel Slater had ‘come out’; but I did keep thinking – Nigel Slater – Alan Bennett – David Hockney: at a sub/semi conscious level there was a connection, bit like that association game.
But now that one has been put to bed – thank you
Next!
It never was a secret, you know. It was telegraphed in his Observer articles for years before Toast, which was the first time he confirmed it.
I wrote this post simply because there was so much interest in whether he was or not, hoping to lay the matter to rest. Instead, it’s got worse, with the post getting a whisker under 100 hits this evening.
There does seem to be a gene for gay creativity – how else to explain it?
I suspect Gordon Ramsay might be secretly gay – he just tries too hard! (Joke, Gordon – calm down…)
Ron.
LOL!
wHOCARES. I LOVE HIS BOOKS, HE WRITES FROM THE HEART. NO ” WACK THAT IN ” JUST GOOD, GENTLE ,COMMON SENSE. I STOPPED COOKING AFTER MY HUSBAND DIED, THANK YOU NIGEL, YOU MADE ME WANT TO COOK AGAIN.
Hmm… Had you bothered reading my post, you know that “who cares?” was precisely my point!
And don’t sodding SHOUT! It’s bad manners. (Upper case text is the online equivalent of yelling at the top of your voice.)
Top post, I love to watch Nigel & all the lovely food he makes- you are completely correct people are far too concerned with other people’s private life
who cares about Nigel and his private life,what matters is that he a brilliant cook and his latest “simple suppers” is supurb,lets hope he brings out a book on this latest series.
Well, Sue, I guess you care since you went to the trouble of finding this post and felt moved to comment on it.
Just watched ‘Toast’ – absolutely brilliant. Nigel’s cooking is second to none, and he makes everything look soooooooooo easy!
Cheers.
Also watched Toast last night – so glad that Nigel made himself what he is today! A truely wonderful man! Have made loads of his ‘Simple Suppers’ and they have been great – keep them coming!!
What difference does it make about a persons sexuality? Personally I don’t give a fig. It’s all about the person, not just one part.
Nigel is a brilliant cook, passionate about food and down to earth.
Toast was superb and I empathise with what he went through.
Keep up the great work Nigel.
i’m interested because I’m nosy. And I like him. That makes me nosier. All part of the strange phenomenon of celebrity.
Loved “Toast”. Made me laugh and cry. Who’d have thought a TV chef’s autobiography would make such a lovely film? It was beautifully done. Slightly surreal how he ends up working for his future self at the end, though…
I love you Ron, I wish I had your wit. Lol
On ‘Toast’, the little kid (Oscar Kennedy) was superb as Nigel.
I watched TOAST and loved it apart from the ending. It was ruined by Nigel being in it.
I recently was able to watch BBC (iPlayer) and Nigel’s series has kept me intrigued these past days not because of his sexuality but because of his kind, gentle, easy manner. He’s inspired me to make a few new dishes and for that I thank him very much. BTW: found this post by simply searching his name…then I was curious! Thanks again!
Loved watching the film “Toast”. Does anyone know the whereabouts of the house in the countryside that Nigel lived?
It’s a couple of years since I read Toast, but as far as I can recall, he keeps quiet about the location.