Stereotypical jokes. Laughable mispronunciations. Culinary atrocities. “The Great British Baking Show” set off a minor furor on social media with its most recent episode, “Mexican Week” (or more precisely, “‘Mexican’ Week”). But were the bowdlerizations of tacos and tres leches cake harmless fun gone awry, or a sign of more fundamental problems in the beloved reality competition series?
“Baking Show” aficionado and Los Angeles Times staff writer Meredith Blake and “Baking Show” newcomer and Los Angeles Times food editor Daniel Hernandez offer two perspectives on the controversy.
Meredith Blake: It’s hard to identify the most unfortunate moment in this episode. Was it Paul Hollywood referring to something called “pick-oh-duh-callow” sauce, Carole from Dorset butchering a poor avocado, or the opening sketch where Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas, clad in sombreros, talked about making just “Juan” Mexican joke? (OK, let’s be real, it was the sketch.) But here was the rare case where the preemptive Twitter freakout actually seemed justified. There’s nothing wrong, in theory, with a Mexican episode of “The Great British Baking Show,” but this was a groan-fest from start to finish.
