Nigella Lawson responds to jokes about her ‘microwave’ pronunciation

The celebrity chef said ‘meecro-wa-vay’ when she was making mashed potatoes on an episode of ‘Cook, Eat, Repeat’

Jade Bremner
Wednesday 09 December 2020 11:13 EST
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Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson has sent the Internet wild over the way she says 'microwave’
Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson has sent the Internet wild over the way she says 'microwave’ ( )

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Nigella Lawson has responded to comments on social media after viewers of this week's Cook, Eat, Repeat, joked about her pronunciation of the word “microwave”.

Some viewers said they burst into hysterics after the chef said “meecro-wa-vay” when referring to the household kitchen appliance.

On Monday’s episode of her BBC cooking show she was making a brown butter colcannon, she said: “I still need a bit of milk, full fat, which I’ve warmed in the meecro-wa-vey.”

“Am I the only one who thought @Nigeella_Lawson was being sarcastic when she pronounced Meecro-wavé?! Now, I’m starting to think she really pronounces it like that?” Said Twitter user @CraigUK1983.

To which Lawson replied on Tuesday: "Well, I do say it like that, but not because I think that’s how it’s actually pronounced."

After countless comments and memes, the celeb chef retweeted her own reply to @CraigUK1983 on Wednesday with “Can this be the end of it now?”

“Henceforth, 'mecrowavay' shall forever be in my vocabulary and microwave will cease to exist Queen @Nigella_Lawson has spoken,” joked another Twitter user.

“Eternally grateful to Nigella Lawson for letting us know we've all been mispronouncing microwave for the last 50 (or so) years,” said another social media user. 

Amid the debate, Lawson liked a tweet from a social media user who came to her defence, explaining that “[Microwave] is pronounced as an Italian or Spanish person would / mee-kro-wa-veh/, ie, the right way.” 

“Like the Radio Times was always Rad-ee-o Tim-ees in our house for some bizarre reason,” joked another user.“

"Tomatoes and potatoes are the pronunciation dilemmas the past. In 2020, you [say] microwave, I say microwavé,” said user Ian C Mackenzie.

Lawson’s new show has featured her making a posh fried chicken sandwich, and controversially, has featured a detailed five-minute toast recipe.

“I favour the two-stage buttering approach and so far, only stage one has taken place,” said the Lawson, while explaining how to butter toast.

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