Yahoo News Vegan 'Bake Off' viewers angry at judges mocking veganism and 'not taking it seriously'
Veganism might as well have been beamed down from space on last night’s episode of The Great British Bake Off, and vegan viewers weren’t happy about it.
Persistent remarks by the judges, the hosts (were comments like ‘you have five vegan minutes left’ really necessary?) and also the attitudes of contestants put noses out of joint across the land of those who favour a plant-based diet.
Paul Hollywood was quoted at the launch of the series, in which the first ever vegan week was announced, saying: “Veganism seems to be growing and we wanted to represent it on the Bake Off this year, and that’s why it’s in.
“You’ve got to judge [the vegan baking challenge] the same way you would judge it on a conventional. You can’t judge it and say ‘it’s ok for vegan,’ it’s got to taste good. Period. So we judged it and we were surprised.”
But there was little of that acceptance evident last night, and he remained pretty clearly sceptical throughout the episode.
Viewers picked up on it too.
#gbbo did vegan week all wrong. Negative from the beginning. Especially from the judges. It could of been a celebration of amazing cruelty free food but it was laughed at instead
— Jessica (@JessicaPea_) October 10, 2018
you know why have vegan week if not even the judges are taking it seriously.#gbbo rather than showing everyone how delicious and easy vegan food can be they're acting as if its an imposible challenge. Its just substituting animal fat and binding agents with plant based options 🙄
— alison (@aplraven) October 9, 2018
Just catching up on #GBBO
The attitude towards vegan baking from the judges in particular seems a bit off to me. There seems to be surprise when tasting every bake that vegan food can be just as good as non vegan.
— Charlotte Oates (@CharlottesLK) October 9, 2018
If I were vegan I’d be really pissed off as to how the judges, presenters and some of the contestants have taken the piss out of vegan baking on #gbbo this week.
— James M 🏴🇪🇺🇬🇧🏳️🌈 (@beefqueen) October 9, 2018
Why are people getting angry about #GBBO having a vegan week? It's the same programme…baking challenges and judges judging the bakes. If the fact that no animal products are used really upsets you, you have problems!
— Miranda Wilson-Wood (@mwilsonwood) October 4, 2018
Good – showcasing veganism to the masses
Bad – judges taking the piss like it’s just a fad. Maybe a little bit about why people are vegan so the public don’t just think we’re difficult dieters!! For the animals init.#gbbo #veganweek https://t.co/uJfpzrhDxV
— Jhon Cosgrove (@Pickledjhon) October 9, 2018
Others have kicked back at the criticism of having a vegan week in the first place.
Imagine being that ignorant and small minded that a vegan week on bake off actually offends you #GBBO
— ㄒㄖ爪 (@tomxhopkinson) October 9, 2018
Why are people so irrationally angry about a vegan week on #GBBO? 😂 they’ve done a gluten free week before, and it’s a good challenge!
— Genie Todd (@genietodd) October 9, 2018
I'm not vegan, not even veggie, but I am very open to the idea of vegan recipes as they're normally a lot healthier, better for the environment and taste really good. All this hate at #GBBO vegan week is just moronic 🙄 try something new you bunch of sad twats.
— Liz Brakell (@LizBrakell1) October 9, 2018
Firm, but fair.
Welshman Jon Jenkins clattered out of the competition last night, after three pretty dicey bakes.
But in his honour, all contestants will wear a Hawaiian shirt, his trademark throughout the show, for the first ever ‘Danish week’ next week.
Kom på Dansk Uge! Our multilingual Bake Off Squirrel tells us this means ‘Bring On Danish Week’, but we’re not convinced. See you next week! #GBBO pic.twitter.com/JYEglrBDbg
— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) October 9, 2018
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