How to prevent casual racism on food TV

And why Mexican food should have had a better show on GBBO

You may think the point of making mistakes is to learn from them, but no. Great British Bake Off is something of a routine offender when it comes to crimes against culture. We had the shock that was sweet samosas in 2018, the fiasco that was Japanese Week in 2020 and now Mexico has fallen. And this time it’s so bad, even the Americans are laughing at us.

Image: Tacos, by Lily Ramirez-Foran, Blasta Books

It’s been two years since the world changed with big movements like Me too, Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate. Important conversations are taking place about the restoration of power, balance and equity for cultures that have been minoritised, colonised, enslaved and economically subjugated. Yet on British television, we return to tired old tropes and cliches that play to stereotypes and disrespect those very cultures.

For those of you who missed the episode, it’s worth watching to witness the casual racism, coloniality and misrepresentation on display in all its sombrero-topped glory. Lily Ramirez-Foran, Mexican food writer and author of new cookbook Tacos, summed it up perfectly: “What a train wreck that episode was. It is hard to believe that in 2022 we still have to call out racial stereotyping and cultural misrepresentation with a major TV Production. And that no one stopped and say, wait a minute, is this actually funny or just plain offensive?”

London-based Mexican cookery teacher Karla Zazueta said: “I guess they thought it was funny. And that’s the sort of thing that sells and what people want to watch”. Needless to say it wasn’t funny. It felt personal. Food is culture. Routinely running roughshod over it is exhausting for those at the receiving end, not funny. And jokes need to be funny.

Unsuprisingly, Lily found the racial stereotypes portrayed by costumes and props offensive. She said: “As a linguist I also objected to the language used on these so call jokes as it dehumanises the people and the culture portrayed. It is so disappointing to see this happening on a major TV production that used to be wholesome and fun.”

Said Karla: “We have fallen into this stereotype of ‘fiesta, arriba’. Everyone thinks that is what Mexico is about, but we are so much more. Mexico is beautiful and we don’t wear those sombreros and sarapes to celebrate”. She used one painful word to sum up how she felt: “humiliated”.

We need to go back to the basics. Again. I started this newsletter with a piece on what cultural appropriation is about. I’ve now trained some 800 people in the food industry and beyond on how to get it right. And here are the three words to know: research, respect, platform.

Anyone who wants to commercialise a culture that is not their own needs to start with solid research. Speak to a handful of people who know their stuff, take a deep interest in the area. From the online clips, now being circulated across the pond, it is evident the researchers didn’t think to speak to anyone trying to change the outdated, outlandish and frankly outrageous nonsense that exists about Mexico that made it on to prime time television. I’m amazed a tequila joke didn’t make the cut, as they threw everything else at it. And the tacos were not good either, said Karla: “The tacos were awful. They should have done their research better”.

The programme had a huge opportunity to educate, inform and engage viewers on the nuances of Mexican culture, and they squandered it. It cuts deeper when you think how easy it would have been to get this right, said Lily: “Engage with actual professionals and expats from the country living in the UK. There is no excuse to go solo with these things. Research the culture, the people and the cuisine; and always, ALWAYS ask yourselves, if the roles reversed, if it was my country/culture/cuisine, would I like it?”

Her last point is one of the quickest ways to spot cultural insensitivity and colonial attitudes. Culture needs to be treated with care. Instead, we routinely disrespect it. It wasn’t just Mexicans who found it difficult viewing. Food writer Nicola Miller who moved to Mexico as a very young child described it as a “deeply uncomfortable watch”.

She said: “Most of the food I continue to eat is similar to my diet in northern Mexico as a child. This is why I felt really sad and angry as I watched the four hosts turn the country I love and respect into a figure of stereotyped fun. What a missed opportunity to involve guest judges of Mexican descent to showcase this incredibly diverse country and its spectacular food properly”.

I didn’t understand why there was a taco on a baking show. Neither did lots of others apparently. Lily said: “Not only was the technical challenge was irrelevant to baking, but the actual recipe to make the tortilla was wrong! I don’t know where Paul learnt to make tortillas in that manner, NO ONE a makes them like that in Mexico! I was screaming at the TV in disbelief at this point!” She thinks the pan de Dulce category had more scope for a technical challenge and they ignored it completely. As for the ‘three-tier’ tres leches cake: “That is technically impossible to make if made right! It will always collapse”.

On a more basic note, the words “Is Mexico a real place” uttered on screen is deeply troubling. Is casual racism funny? Like banter? What will kids learn on television? What sort of behaviour will it condone and perpetuate? Have we done more hard than good by featuring Mexico so shoddily? As Nicola said: “On the face of it, the format welcomes people from different cultural backgrounds, only to subject them to macro and microaggressions week in, and week out. So yes it's incredibly British in that way”.

The answer to putting this right is also about putting something back. This is where championing, platforming and showcasing genuine talent who know what they are talking about becomes necessary. Why wouldn’t you have someone like Lily or Karla on television, helping them spread their word? Transform the tropes? All with a commercial benefit to them too.

As Lily put it: “They could have invited an actual Mexican to guest judge the episode and guide them through the process. You are not short of Mexican food experts in the UK who could have provided guidance and flair. Instead the show relied on stereotypes and ‘jokes’ to make it Mexican”.

What qualifies you as an expert is also worth investigating. I talk about the “Yoga in Kerala effect” where brief stints of travel turn people into experts on the cuisine of a nation, sometimes entire geographies with rich pockets of unique heritage. Lily was scathing about the effect this has inside so many of us: “And I’m sorry, but if I have to see another smirking, white male chef on screen proclaiming himself an expert on our food and culture after travelling in mexico for two weeks, I’ll scream!”

There are many of us who will scream with you Lily. It’s nonsense the French wouldn’t tolerate, and most European food cultures come to think of it. It’s about time important national platforms for education and information realised others won’t either.