Great British Baking Show is accused by New York Times of being ‘casually racist’

The awakened New York Times continued its anti-British crusade on Friday, accusing the beloved and lively multicultural Great British Baking Show of being “casually racist.”

Tejal Rao, restaurant critic for the newspaper, said on Friday the series was offensive and had lost its charm, saying the show was “tired” and denouncing their celebration of Mexican food as “rock bottom.”

She took issue with the current season’s episode four, which aired on October 6 in the UK and on Netflix a day later.

For the ‘signature’ challenge, they had to make the sweet bread pan dulce, and tacos for the ‘technical’. To end the episode with the “show stopper,” they were asked to make a tres leches cake.

Rao accused the producers of resorting to “countries as themes, cuisines as costumes, identities as performances.”

Fielding and Lucas are seen with judges Prue Leith (right) and Paul Hollywood

She noted that hosts Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding dressed in sombreros and waved maracas and said they wouldn’t make “Mexican jokes” and then spent the hour doing that.

To the British public, the appearance of Mr. Luke and mr. Fielding in a casually racist piece may not have come as a surprise, but the American public is not that familiar with their earlier work,” Rao wrote.

In part that’s because ‘The Mighty Boosh’ and ‘Little Britain’, their shows that aired in Britain in the early 2000s, were both pulled from Netflix a few years ago for their blackface, brownface and yellowface performances. ‘

The Los Angeles-based author and critic said part of the problem was taking the show away from its foundations as a high-end amateur baking contest, complete with macarons, eclairs, and Black Forest pies.

“To me, it felt more like the episode betrayed its own contestants and its audience, with a lack of expertise on the part of the judges and a lack of curiosity on the part of the presenters,” she wrote.

“Paul Hollywood would explain to Prue Leith about steak tacos with pico de gallo and less beans, that would be horribly funny if he wasn’t portrayed as an expert.”

Attendees of this year’s Great British Baking Show can be seen on the site

One of the contestants was mocked online for the way she cut an avocado

Rao said many were baffled by the stereotypical and ignorant portrayal of Mexican food and culture.

“It was worse than the clips suggested — an hour of incompetent exposition, farcical rumbles and maracas shaking,” she wrote.

A distraction to an increasingly insular, self-referential show that has run out of energy and expertise and won’t find anywhere else.

“The show has gradually moved away from regional specialties and technical challenges, focusing on things such as the beauty of lamination, hot water crusts and steamed puddings.”

Rao’s conviction was reflected in the Los Angeles Times, Eater and Bon Appetit magazine.

‘Stereotypical jokes. Laughable misstatements. Culinary atrocities,’ said The Los Angeles Times.

Several pointed out that the controversy had parallels to “Japanese Week,” in 2020, which some found offensive.

“Sombreros, serapes and maracas, outrageous statements, jokes about Mexican deadlocks and really strange-looking tacos – did the ‘Mexican Week’ episode of ‘The Great British Baking Show’ leave no stone unturned?” early Variety.

Steph Rodriguez, food editor for SFGatestated, “One of the world’s most comforting television series became one of its most offensive on Friday.”