Christmas queen Nigella Lawson 'never made a mince pie': Francesca Grillo Nigella Lawson pictured on the cover of her recipe book 'Nigella Christmas'. Former assistant Francesca Grillo says Lawson's staff used to organise Christmas for the family. TELL us it isn't so! Despite her enduring image as the ultimate Christmas host, Nigella Lawson allegedly hired experts to decorate her Christmas tree and called in the caterers to cook for her family. Former assistants Francesca Grillo and sister Elisabetta, who were cleared of credit card fraud against Lawson and ex-husband Charles Saatchi, say the only time they witnessed the famous cook do anything remotely Christmas-y was when she once made a Christmas pudding, but they never saw her make a mince pie, despite regularly dishing up the dessert on her television show. Francesca Grillo told The Sun: "Christmas wasn't as perfect as on her cooking show. I never saw her make a mince pie or Yule log at home. She might have made a pudding once. The sisters told the The Sun how Lawson and Saatchi would relax and let their staff organise the festive season. Francesca Grillo said: "We'd have a tree delivered then Nigella got a team to decorate it rather than do it with the kids. The tree was very simple - just lights usually and only one colour. She had this weird black fairy to go on top. She was very particular that we use that. It was very strange. One year she made cookies that were hung on the tree with ribbons. They were put in a drawer and used year after year. She never made fresh ones. Nigella Lawson aides Francesca (right) and Elisabetta Grillo. Francesca added: "Caterers sometimes came in to do the cooking, then in the last few years the family ate out. From 2009 they went to her husband's gallery on Christmas Day. They'd rent the entire restaurant and have people cooking and serving the food. The sisters also told how stress levels soared in the couple's luxury home throughout December. Elisabetta, 41, who was the couple's aide from 2001 to 2012, said: "Something would always go wrong and the tension would rise. Nigella was very busy so all the tasks would be passed to us and the other staff. It was a very stressful time. The sisters" account of life with Lawson was in stark contrast to a photo she tweeted of her table covered in red cloths as a spokesman revealed she is "preparing to host 30 people for Christmas dinner on Wednesday." In her 2008 book, Nigella Christmas, she described how to cook the perfect turkey, with trimmings such as butternut orzotto, panettone and Italian sausage stuffing. In the best-seller she says the dish, which takes a "brutal" five-and-half hours to prepare and cook, left her "exhausted, hungry, flabbergasted and proud." Said Francesca Grillo: "She would make lots of money with her shows and books at Christmas but someone else often made the dinner. Remember she was just a brand. Real life was different.