Sitting here stuck at home unwell, I came across Channel 4’s What’s Cooking for the first time. What did I hear? The final recipe was a lactose-free dessert. My little ears pricked up and I thought I might see something interesting and new. What did I see? Yet more ****** fruit salad!!!! OK, this one was hot fruit salad served with a heap of gritty bits on top, rather than just bald in the bowl, but that’s just hiding the unbearable truth. Breakfast cereal and fruit salad?? We needed a TV chef to tell us to do that?? And the Fabulous Baker Brothers, when asked what they would do? What did they say?? A coconut with the top cut off and a straw poked in….!! Fabulous!
What are people thinking? “You can’t make crumble without butter,” said the cook. Yes, you can. We do. Regularly. And it’s delicious. Maybe the Fabulous Baker Brothers would turn their noses up at it (Yes, the “Yuk” reaction was clearly visible when they were asked what they would do.), but if they couldn’t eat butter or milk ever again, maybe they’d put their minds to how to achieve delicious things rather than shrugging off the issue with ****** fruit salad!!!
OK. Rant over. At least there are plenty of puds here for everyone to make that we can eat!
How ridiculous! You’d think that all these trained chefs would have a bit more nouse about them and be a little more creative. I think most celebrity chefs have something of a love affair with butter and cream etc etc. It annoys me, both from dairy free and health points of view. I have no culinary training whatsoever but (like you and countless other dairy-free families) have managed to make dairy-free versions of most dishes that taste perfectly good, it just takes a little imagination!
After watching the Great British Bake Off last year, I was very tempted to write to the producers and ask them to do a ‘special diets’ round of the competition, where the contestants had to make gluten or dairy or egg free cakes…I think it would be very interesting to see what they came up with! Hopefully more than fruit salad 🙂
You’re right. They regularly set challenges, after all and there are commercial bakeries in this country now which specialise in this and would probably be delighted to provide expertise as an example. Especially, when you consider the profile-raising effect that could have on their own business.
Mind you, maybe that’s part of what stops it happening on the BBC: theis own in-house bakers don’t so it and they don’t want to call in anybody whose business would then, even indirectly, be advertised.
What gets to me, is the yuk-face that appears if you suggest that it might be possible to create replacement/alternative versions of dishes. “If you can’t make it with milk and butter, why would you bother: it’s bound to be revolting.” Well, hello, maybe some of you professional chefs should consider asking people who HAVE to eat this way (not because we’re making a ‘lifestyle choice’ or because we feel a burning commitment to weave our own yoghurt) whether we LIKE eating food that tastes of damp cardboard. Then consider whether you would. And then perhaps, you’d start thinking like we do. NO MORE FRUIT SALAD FOR STARTERS!!
Sorry. Thought I’d calmed down. Maybe not quite yet!
Of course, if someone were nominated for a spot on one of the BBC shows… (thinking aloud)
hmmm