Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith addresses the controversial 'Mexican week': 'There would have been absolutely no intention to offend'
Nearly a month after the controversial 'Mexican Week' episode of Great British Bake Off, judge Prue Leith is addressing the incident.
The controversial episode aired earlier this month, featured the hosts Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas dressed in sombreros and ponchos with Fielding saying they shouldn't make Mexican jokes as Lucas added, 'Not even Juan?'
The episode was blasted for those and other insensitive comments, with Leith, 82, insisting they were not trying to offend viewers.
![Addressing: Nearly a month after the controversial 'Mexican Week' episode of Great British Bake Off, judge Prue Leith is addressing the incident](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/10/28/05/63934357-11364059-image-a-2_1666931513591.jpg)
Addressing: Nearly a month after the controversial 'Mexican Week' episode of Great British Bake Off, judge Prue Leith is addressing the incident
![Controversy: Nearly a month after the controversial 'Mexican Week' episode of Great British Bake Off, judge Prue Leith is addressing the incident](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/10/28/05/63934345-11364059-image-a-3_1666931523832.jpg)
Controversy: Nearly a month after the controversial 'Mexican Week' episode of Great British Bake Off, judge Prue Leith is addressing the incident
'There would have been absolutely no intention to offend. That’s not the spirit of the show,' Leith insisted in an interview with The New Yorker.
The episode - which airs under the title Great British Baking Show - featured the bakers tasked with making Mexican dishes.
They were supposed to make pan dulce, steak tacos with homemade tortillas, and tres leches cakes.
![No intention: 'There would have been absolutely no intention to offend. That¿s not the spirit of the show,' Leith insisted in an interview with The New Yorker](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/10/28/05/63934353-11364059-image-a-4_1666931567443.jpg)
No intention: 'There would have been absolutely no intention to offend. That’s not the spirit of the show,' Leith insisted in an interview with The New Yorker
Aside from Fielding and Lucas' cold open jokes, viewers complained about the bakers mispronouncing words like 'pico de gallo' and a baker peeling an avocado like a potato.
While viewers sounded off quite frequently on social media, Professor Ignacio M. Sánchez Prado, a professor of Mexican cultural studies at Washington University, also had something to say in an NPR interview.
'The fundamental issue is that the episode and its campaign follow a script on Mexican culture that us Mexicans, from either side of the US-Mexico border, see very frequently,' Prado said.
![Peeling: Aside from Fielding and Lucas' cold open jokes, viewers complained about the bakers mispronouncing words like 'pico de gallo' and a baker peeling an avocado like a potato](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/10/28/05/63934339-11364059-image-a-5_1666931582997.jpg)
Peeling: Aside from Fielding and Lucas' cold open jokes, viewers complained about the bakers mispronouncing words like 'pico de gallo' and a baker peeling an avocado like a potato
'The use of cartoonish sarapes and sombreros as props and disguises, the misidentification of Mexican food with the stuff sold in Taco Bell, the borrowing of beloved dishes like tres leches to make versions that have little recognisability to Mexicans, this is something that we see every Cinco de Mayo and every Hispanic Heritage Month,' Prado added.
The Mexican Week episode was not the first time the show caused cultural controversy.
A 2020 episode dubbed Japanese Week came under fire from viewers for using different kinds of Asian cuisine, with some thinking it perpetuates the stereotype that all Asian cooking is the same.
![Controversy: The Mexican Week episode was not the first time the show caused cultural controversy](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/10/28/05/63934341-11364059-image-a-6_1666931607316.jpg)
Controversy: The Mexican Week episode was not the first time the show caused cultural controversy
Host Lucas was also criticized for calling katsu curry 'cat poo curry' while the bakers were criticized for using Indian and Chinese flavors in their Japanese dishes.
Tomoko Kato, the executive pastry chef and owner of New York pastry shop, told Insider that she understood the criticism but added, 'there is room for both traditional and nontraditional' baking in Japanese cuisine.
'There is a style of Japanese cooking that strictly follows tradition. But that was not part of any of [the show's] challenges. Japan has so many distinct food styles and specialties. There is room for both traditional and nontraditional,' Kato added.
![Criticized: Host Lucas was also criticized for calling katsu curry 'cat poo curry' while the bakers were criticized for using Indian and Chinese flavors in their Japanese dishes](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/10/28/05/63934343-11364059-image-a-7_1666931620127.jpg)
Criticized: Host Lucas was also criticized for calling katsu curry 'cat poo curry' while the bakers were criticized for using Indian and Chinese flavors in their Japanese dishes
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