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British restaurateur and cooking show host Simon Rimmer was forced to make an apology on television, after a segment featuring comedian Jon Richardson.
Richardson is vegan.
During Rimmer's Sunday Brunch show, he used ghee—clarified butter—to make Masoor dahl. He then fed the dish to Richardson, assuring him that it would be OK to eat with his vegan diet.
Soon enough, viewers of the show took notice, and were quick to complain online. This prompted Rimmer to make an onscreen apology after a commercial break.
You can see the mea culpa here.
Video: Outrage as vegan Jon Richardson fed ghee on live TVwww.youtube.com
Rimmer said:
"Earlier on, in the previous cooking item, I may have informed guests that the dahl was in fact vegan. It was, of course, ghee used in the recipe, which isn't vegan."
"I allowed Jon Richardson, who is indeed a vegan, to eat some of it. Jon, on behalf of myself and the Sunday Brunch team, I would like to sincerely apologize and hope I haven't offended you and spoiled your life."
Richardson wasn't too fazed by the incident, instead laughing it off.
"Well, when I'm sick during my interview, you can take responsibility for that."
He added:
"It was delicious—and it could be vegan."
Rimmer and Richardson remarked the ghee could be replaced with a vegan substitute, making the dish truly vegan.
Richardson's wife, comedian Lucy Beaumont, interrupted to say he had a halloumi burger the previous week. Halloumi is a cheese made of sheep or goat milk and is decidedly not vegan.
The panel laughed at Beaumont's revelation.
While the situation was lightheartedly joked about, some viewers definitely weren't laughing. Many took to Twitter to vent about their frustrations with Rimmer's segment.
@simonrim @SundayBrunchC4 I’m really offended by the ‘joking’ apology and the laughing in the background. It would… https://t.co/SiGd0iMqi9— evasarawelch (@evasarawelch) 1583664365.0
@VICE In other news, hundreds of vegans discover that ghee is butter.— ᒧ𐌇 (@ᒧ𐌇) 1583884542.0
@VICE I am a vegan, and I accept that things like this happen. It's surprising how people don't know what a Vegan a… https://t.co/A2bfLBHp8w— Ｍａｒｋ Ｈｅｎｄｅｒｓｏｎ (@Ｍａｒｋ Ｈｅｎｄｅｒｓｏｎ) 1583884256.0
@VICE I’m pissed at this because I have a daughter that’s highly allergic to animal and animal byproducts. She’s a… https://t.co/4EtVt92MiU— karen johnson (@karen johnson) 1583960884.0
@Independent Right... "hope I haven't offended you and spoiled your life" is a non apology. Just imagine if it was… https://t.co/PtxudUpi5r— Ҝ∆Ї (@Ҝ∆Ї) 1583739731.0
@Independent I think it shows how difficult it is to be 100% vegan conscious. I’m sure it was an honest mistake and… https://t.co/W3hQEJ17y7— Marty McFry (@Marty McFry) 1583739841.0
@ladbible https://t.co/9BKuzLJ9jw— scott (@scott) 1583686193.0
It's clear that Richardson wasn't too shaken up by the accident.
However, in another situation—where ingredients are avoided for allergies or other health reasons—this could have gone very wrong.
Hopefully Rimmer notes this, and is more careful in the future.