Saturday Kitchen fans fumed as they spotted “cross-contamination” during the latest instalment of the BBC show.
Matt Tebbutt returned on Saturday (April 27) and welcomed Ken Hom as they celebrated 40 years since the Chinese-American restaurateur made it onto British TV.
As the show paid homage to his incredible 40-year career, Matt and his guests whipped up a number of tasty chinese dishes. Later in the programme, they brought in Chef Tong who demonstrated how to make the perfect peking duck – one of Ken’s favourites.
Chef Tong seasoned the duck with a number of spices before stuffing it with ginger and spring onion. After soaking the duck in hot water, he used a towel to pat the duck dry.
Viewers immediately shared their complaints on social media after the chef used the same towel to wipe his hands and handle the cooked duck. One wrote: “These chefs on #SaturdayKitchen need to remember their basic food hygiene skills.”
A second fumed: “Chef used same teatowel to dry off duck! wipe his hands, then same one to pick up cooked duck!! hygiene on this program is disgusting!! running hands under tap with no use of soap is NOT washing hands, then using pre used teatowel to dry.”
A third penned: “The contaminated towel” followed by a face screaming in fear emoji. Another declared: “Too much cross-contamination going on for me.” Meanwhile a fifth added: “What’s Mandarin for wash your hands.”
Despite the outrage from viewers, the duck went down perfectly with those in the studio. Matt quipped: “It’s just delicious. I’m so excited.” Drinks expert Helen McGinn agreed, admitting duck is one of her favourite dishes.
The 50-year-old TV presenter then poked fun at his friend as he responded: “Whenever we go out she’s like, ‘Can we have the duck.’ Let’s have it again.”
Speaking about the Saturday Kitchen special on his life, Ken, 74, said: “I’m very honoured Saturday Kitchen is doing this.
“I first went on it in 2002, and every time I never know what to expect. I’ve filmed for the show from my tiny flat in Paris, and did a Chinese New Year programme on Zoom live from Bangkok during Covid.
