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15 Feb 2026 3:54
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  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Hugh Grant has taken up cooking in lockdown

    The 'Love Actually' star has enjoyed getting into the kitchen now he is home more because of the coronavirus pandemic, but has recalled how it once went "badly wrong" when he tried to cook a chicken


    He said: "I like being in the kitchen now. I like to put on an apron, I like the glass of wine. I don't mind tossing, frying the onions a bit, that's fine. I did have a go at a chicken and it came out very badly wrong."

    And the 60-year-old actor didn't even realise he had lost his sense of taste because of coronavirus, because he had just thought his food had no taste.

    He added: "It was a mild flu and then this weird thing where you lose your taste, but it was lockdown and I was doing the cooking for the first time in 30 years - and none of my food tastes of anything anyway, so we didn't notice that we didn't have any taste for days and days."

    However, there's one thing that frustrates him about plating up.

    Speaking on Live! With Kelly and Ryan, he shared: "I don't like touching food. It's disgusting."

    Meanwhile, Hugh previously revealed he had coronavirus in February.

    He said: "It started as just a very strange syndrome where I kept breaking into a terrible sweat. It was like a poncho of sweat, embarrassing really. Then my eyeballs felt about three sizes too big and this ... a feeling as though an enormous man was sitting on my chest, Harvey Weinstein or someone. By then people were just starting to talk about this as a symptom. And I started sniffing flowers, nothing. And you get more and more desperate. I started sniffing in garbage cans. You know, you want to sniff strangers' armpits because you just can't smell anything. I eventually went home and I sprayed my wife's Chanel No. 5 directly into my face. Couldn't smell a thing, but I did go blind."

    © 2026 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

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    Entertainment:
    Lindsey Vonn is recovering after undergoing a third surgery following her frightening crash at the Winter Olympics 21:51

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    Environment:
    A warning for those in weather affected zones to be vigilant as it starts to get dark 21:17

    Skiing:
    Valentino Guseli thought he saw an 'omen from the shred gods' during the 2026 Winter Olympics halfpipe final 21:07

    Entertainment:
    Alfonso Ribeiro will "always be there" for James Van Der Beek's kids following the actor's death 20:51

    Entertainment:
    Authorities believe Savannah Guthrie's missing mother Nancy is still alive 20:21

    Entertainment:
    Bijou Phillips has launched an urgent appeal to find a kidney donor 19:51

    Entertainment:
    Stacy Keibler says it was a "gift from God" to be with James Van Der Beek in his "final days" 19:21

    Health & Safety:
    Two sailors have been hospitalised after a nasty crash between the Black Foils and France, forcing the cancellation of racing for the day at the Auckland Sail GP event 18:57


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