CELEBRITY chef Antony Worrall Thompson has hit out at Channel 4 bosses for banning foreign-themed episodes due to fear of being accused of cultural appropriation.
The former Ready Steady Cook star was reacting to reports the Bake Off execs had sanctioned a ban to avoid a re-run of a row last year about their Mexican episode.
Mr Worrall Thompson told GB News: “It’s complete nonsense. I mean, as William Shakespeare would say, it’s much ado about nothing.
“I can’t believe the small minority who don’t like these programmes don’t have an on off button on their televisions, and they can’t just turn it off. The majority of people enjoy the programme.
“It’s a light-hearted show. They like to have a bit of fun. Some of the jokes are pretty average I have to say but who cares? You know, it’s a food programme with a bit of fun.”
In a discussion with Dan Wootton, he continued: “It’s some sort of cultural [issue], trying to say something was authentic. All chefs have got to say this isn’t my interpretation of say, a Thai green curry or whatever. Don’t say it’s the genuine thing.
“All food can be improved. And I don’t believe that our food industry would be anything without chefs always trying to improve things.
“As long as the food tastes good, does it really matter? If we stick to the rule?”
He added: “I’ve got 8,000 cookbooks and I search through these cookbooks for ideas and I nick them, a bit here and there. And I think when I practice the food, play with the food, I think I’ve made that a little bit better.
“That’s what chefs do. Decent chefs want to play with food and come out with a better result. But as far as this programme is concerned, it’s so pathetic that the minority have such loud voices.”
