Nigella Lawson has ‘the best cheese toastie she’s ever eaten’ during her Australian trip – and raves about tiny Italian restaurant Roma in Melbourne
Nigella Lawson has declared a humble cheese toastie from a Sydney shop the best she’s ever eaten, as she continues to rave about Australia’s food scene.
The British food icon, 66, was blown away by a toasted sandwich from Penny’s Cheese Shop in Sydney, describing its gooey centre and crispy cheese crust as unlike anything she had tasted before.
‘This is the best cheese toastie I have ever, ever eaten – gooey on the inside, with a chewy yet crisp cheese-leather carapace,’ she wrote on Instagram.
‘Both the toastie and the shop I feel to be unmissable.’
But it wasn’t just the sandwich that impressed the celebrity chef.
Nigella also praised the shop’s selection of cheeses from around the world, revealing she particularly enjoyed discovering Australian varieties during her visits.
‘Penny sells excellent cheese from all over, but when I’m here I come for the exquisitely delicious education in Australian cheese,’ she wrote.
‘Eat and learn! I couldn’t recommend this course of action more.’
Nigella Lawson has declared a humble cheese toastie from a Sydney shop the best she’s ever eaten, as she continues to rave about Australia’s food scene
The British food icon was blown away by a sandwich from Penny’s Cheese Shop in Sydney, describing its gooey centre and crispy cheese crust as unlike anything she had tasted before
Her glowing review comes as Nigella continues to share her favourite Australian dining discoveries, including a Melbourne restaurant she loved so much she booked a second visit before leaving the country.
The celebrity chef has heaped praise on Roma, an Italian restaurant on Collins Street, highlighting its inventive cooking, exceptional service, and a pistachio ice cream she described as ‘true heaven’.
And while Nigella has eaten at some of the world’s finest restaurants, it was the warmth of Melbourne’s hospitality that left an equally lasting impression.
‘I so loved Roma when I went a couple of weeks ago that I booked myself in for a return visit before I left,’ she wrote on Instagram.
‘And how good it was to be back in Constantine Christopoulos’ new pleasure palace!’
The restaurant, owned by Christopoulos, has won over the culinary star with its take on traditional Italian cooking.
Nigella reserved particular praise for chef Matt Wilkinson’s Italian-inspired XO sauce, a twist on the traditional Chinese condiment made with chillies, garlic, dried shrimp, and cured meat.
Wilkinson’s version swaps Jinhua ham for prosciutto offcuts, omits dried scallops, and adds a drizzle of white balsamic vinegar.
The British food icon, 66, has heaped praise on Roma, an Italian restaurant on Collins Street
Nigella reserved particular praise for chef Matt Wilkinson’s Italian-inspired XO sauce, a twist on the traditional Chinese condiment made with chillies, garlic, dried shrimp and cured meat
‘I cannot get enough of it!’ Nigella declared.
While she acknowledged the condiment might be unlikely to appear on a menu in Rome, she said it perfectly captured the creativity of Australia’s food scene.
‘Most of all it demonstrates the vibrant, irreverent genius of Australian cooking, for all that Chef Matt Wilkinson is a Yorkshireman!’ she wrote.
The celebrity cook was equally enthusiastic about the restaurant’s more traditional offerings, including pork liver meatballs served with a garlicky bread sauce.
She described the dish as ‘deeply flavoured but light textured’ and declared it ‘un trionfo’, meaning a triumph.
A simple butter lettuce salad with Gorgonzola dressing also earned a special mention, alongside slow-cooked pork served with beans.
Nigella was particularly impressed by the pork’s texture, describing its layer of fat as perfectly cooked.
‘Soft, melting, offering no resistance at all, like a chubby strip of lardo. I swooned,’ she wrote.
Beyond the food, Nigella said Roma’s hospitality was a major reason she had fallen in love with the restaurant
The celebrity cook was equally enthusiastic about the restaurant’s more traditional offerings, including pork liver meatballs served with a garlicky bread sauce
The celebrated pistachio ice cream appeared to provide the perfect ending to her meal
But it was the pistachio ice cream that appeared to provide the perfect ending to her meal.
‘True heaven!’ she declared.
Beyond the food, Nigella said Roma’s hospitality was a major reason she had fallen in love with the restaurant.
She thanked a staff member named Vincent for looking after her party and praised the warmth and attentiveness she had encountered throughout her Australian dining experiences.
‘This is so much at the heart of why I love eating in Australia,’ she wrote.
‘The gift for relaxed but totally committed care-taking and care-giving hospitality is perhaps the true genius.’
Nigella’s latest recommendations have put two very different Australian dining destinations in the spotlight, from a Sydney cheese shop serving what she considers the ultimate toastie to a Melbourne restaurant she couldn’t resist visiting twice.
