Paul Hollywood, you’ve gone too far.
Recently, the celebrity chef and co-host of “The Great British Baking Show” took to Instagram to share a hot take about Jewish food. Namely, that he thinks pickles are “absolutely disgusting.” In the approximately 30-second video shared on @britishbakeoff, Hollywood goes on a diatribe against the fermented cucumber. “As far as I’m concerned, they’re straight from hell,” he opens. He proceeds to bash pickles’ taste and appearance, comparing the popular snack to slugs and saying they “look terrible” and are “not human food at all.”
We here at The Nosher could not disagree more. Pickles are a sour, bubbly and crunchy symphony of flavor. They’re a delicacy, and what’s more, they are an integral part of the Jewish menu. (Though, pickled vegetables are prominent in many cuisines across the globe, and not exclusive to Jewish food.) As Nosher Senior Editor Rachel Myerson once wrote, “[Pickles] were ever-present on my grandmother’s Shabbat table alongside chopped liver and egg and onion, a permanent chaperone to the pastrami sandwich at Jewish delis, and packed into self-serve containers at falafel and sabich shops in Israel.”
Additionally, Jews are central to the story of how pickles became so popular in the United States; Jewish immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries helped to bring pickles into the American consciousness through their sale of Kosher Dills and Half-Sours.
The Nosher celebrates the traditions and recipes that have brought Jews together for centuries. Donate today to keep The Nosher's stories and recipes accessible to all.
This isn’t the first time Paul Hollywood has gotten Jewish food wrong. Famously, in season five, episode 2 of “The Great British Baking Show,” the contestants were challenged to make Hollywood’s recipe for an eight-strand “plaited loaf” with an even, golden bake. Not once during the episode does Paul or anyone else use the word “challah.” Even worse, when judging the “plaited loaves,” Hollywood claims “[braiding bread] is a skill which is dying off.” Considering the fact that Jews have braided challah for centuries and many continue to do so on Shabbat every week, Hollywood’s claim is simply not true. As Emily Burack wrote at the time, “It is quite possible that Paul, and everyone else on the show, has no Jewish friends.”
The entry for Paul Hollywood’s plaited loaf recipe in his 2012 cookbook “How to Bake” is equally misguided. First, the recipe is titled “Cholla Loaf,” which spells challah in a way that no Jewish person has likely ever spelled it. Additionally, he writes in the recipe description that challah is “traditionally served at Passover,” a holiday where Jews avoid eating bread and other leavened products.
Paul’s lack of accurate knowledge when it comes to Jewish food came up once more in season eight of “The Great British Baking Show,” when the contestants were challenged to make twisted rainbow bagels; another of Hollywood’s recipes that is inspired by Jewish food.
“Paul Hollywood, neither a New Yorker nor Jewish, is a recognized expert in bread. But it was clear from this technical challenge that he has no idea how to make a proper New York bagel,” Shannon Sarna wrote in 2020. “At some point while tasting the results of the challenge, he even commented that a crispy exterior means that the bagel is overdone. I’m not sure he has ever visited New York City, or even tasted a bagel.”
Yikes. What’s next, Paul? Will you verbally assault lox? Claim bourekas are triangle hot pockets? Where does the madness end? We humbly suggest that whether it’s challah, bagels or pickles, you perhaps consider leaving the Jewish food recipes and hot takes to the experts.
