Ooh la la — how Nigella Lawson wows America

Hats off Nigella Lawson, who is compensating for Piers Morgan across the pond by becoming the toast, if not the taste, of the American nation.

She made her debut on the new ABC competition cooking show, The Taste, on Tuesday night in a low-cut red dress and sent ratings soaring.

Some critics commended her for her warm, witty demeanour, while one West Coast passer-by even stopped Nigella in the street to compliment her on her poise and elegance. “You must be French,” she was told. An understandable error, perhaps, given that for many viewers Nigella is l’origin du monde.