Boy, we almost didn't recognise you, Nigella: Chef reveals shocking new image after being nominated as chef of the decade

She has always embraced her role as a woman in a man’s world by flaunting her femininity.
But when she discovered she was the only female in the running for a chef of the decade award, Nigella Lawson ensured she would not be pushed out of the spotlight by the boys – by dressing up as one.
Not content with the brief of a classic black tuxedo, crisp white shirt and dark grey bow tie, Miss Lawson, 53, teamed the outfit with hair and make-up befitting a Hollywood star.

Smouldering: Nigella's glamourous makeup of dark eyeliner, red lips and pale skin contrasted to her masculine tuxedo and bow tie ensemble

Suits you, Nigella! The domestic goddess is the only female to be nominated for the Observer Food Monthly Chef of the Decade Award

Her lips were painted a deep red, her eyes thick with smokey kohl, and her hair had been done up in tight curls.
She wore statement diamond earrings, in the shape of the sun, and as she struck a sultry pose for the camera, her cheekbones appeared sharper than ever before.
It is a marked change from how we are used to seeing the cookbook author, who is better known for wearing feminine dresses that flatter her hourglass figure and magnificent cleavage.
Instead the boxy jacket hid the shape she normally celebrates.
And last night a spokesman for the chef said the outfit reflected Miss Lawson’s role as a ‘woman in a man’s world’.
Making his comments after it emerged she was the only female in a list of 10 nominees for the Observer Food Monthly Awards Chef of the Decade Award, the spokesman said: ‘Nigella was the only woman nominated and so they wanted to do something clever around that. Having her dressed in a tuxedo was a quirky way of making that point, sort of like she’s a woman in a man’s world or something.’

Siren: The TV chef is more commonly known for flaunting her hourglass figure

All of the nominees, including award winner Heston Blumenthal, wore suits for photo shoots that took place in locations around the world, but Miss Lawson was the most formally dressed.
She was photographed in Los Angeles, where she spent the summer after filing for divorce from her advertising tycoon husband Charles Saatchi.
The pair separated after photos emerged of the 70-year-old with his hand around his wife’s neck.
And she recently returned to London where she is said to be looking for property as she begins filming the UK version of her American cookery show The Taste.
The other nominees included Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay.