‘You think it's fine and dandy but it's not', Bake Off judge opens up about misogyny in the food industry

The Sun

19-05-2025

IT IS the most wholesome corner of broadcasting with cookery shows oozing with comfort food and family-friendly jokes.
However, over the past year the food industry has attracted the spotlight for all the wrong reasons with high profile chefs accused of sexual misconduct and misogyny.
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Something that sadly doesn't surprise TV chef Rachel Khoo.
The Australian Bake Off judge says: 'It's sad, it's still the case, you'd really think things would have changed in 2025.
'You think it's all fine and dandy, but that's not the case.
'It shows how much work is still left to do and that goes for all parts of society.
'It's not just in the food world, but I think the food world is a small reflection of what's going on in a bigger part of the whole society.
'It's still happening and we've got work to do.'
The mum-of-three's comments come following a slew of allegations against high profile names in the industry.
In February Gino, 48, was accused of sexually inappropriate behaviour over 12 years, which he denies. ITV has vowed not to use him in future.
And Gregg Wallace, 60, left his MasterChef hosting role in December after 13 allegations, which he denies, including inappropriate sexual comments.
Rachel admits has dealt with her fair share of sexism in the past, previously revealing that a sound man placed a microphone down her bra without asking, and says that there have been times where her looks have taken the focus over her talent.
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'I have worked on productions in the past where they want a particular look,' she says.
'Like they wanted a real 1950s look and there has been more emphasis on the female presenters look than the male presenters.
'But it's so ingrained in society.
'You know, there is that case of that presenter, newsreader wearing the same suit every day of the year and nobody saying anything versus his co-presenter, female wearing something the same twice and people complaining.'
Rachel has become somewhat of a trailblaizer for women in the industry, recently being announced as the first female chef for Kettle Chips.
As part of her role with premium crisp brand she launched the Khoo A cademy where women seeking a career in gourmet food can apply for a chance to be part of a mentoring programme.
She says: 'When I first started working in the food industry, I found it intimidating because I was the only woman.
"We've seen a small increase of women in the kitchen since my early days but there's not nearly enough as there should be."
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Gregg Wallace - MasterChef scandal in Brief
GREGG Wallace has stepped down from his MasterChef hosting role after a probe into alleged inappropriate behaviour. But what's the situation?
Regular MasterChef host Gregg Wallace is currently the subject of a probe after an investigation was launched into his alleged misconduct over a number of years.
Gregg has been accused of making sexual remarks to 13 colleagues including Beeb anchor Kirsty Wark - accusations he denies.
The 60-year-old has now stepped away from the BBC show while historical misconduct allegations against him are investigated.
Yet the former greengrocer spoke out on social media to blast the "women of a certain age" who he claimed were behind the allegations.
The cooking show's production company, Banijay UK, has said law firm Lewis Silkin would lead the investigation into Wallace's alleged misconduct.
Currently women make up just 18.5% of chefs in the UK and Rachel is no longer one of them, taking her career overseas.
Rachel has travelled the world, hosting dinners and workshops in London, Paris, Berlin, Milan, Melbourne, Sydney and Buenos Aires.
The keen chef set up a two-person restaurant based in her Paris flat, which attracted a great deal of social media attention.
The experience led her to front BBC's show The Little Paris Kitchen: Cooking with Rachel Khoo in 2012 seeing her follow-up cookbook sell 120,000 copies.
The author is currently a judge on The Great Australian Bake Off alongside Aussie chef Darren Purchese.
The Swedish -based chef says that filming down under couldn't be further from the toxic environments seen in the headlines.
'Filming the Bake Off is for almost two months every year and it's such a dream job,' the Kettle Chips ambassador says.
'It's such a lovely show to be on, I only have my experience from the Australian one, but it is really both on screen and off screen. It is that warm family kind of vibe.
'A lot of the crew have done it for like, you know, many, many seasons and keep on coming back because they love working on the show, even though it's long hours and stuff like that.
'I want to be a cheerleader for people. I want to be uplifting people, not putting them down.
'You know, that's not my style.'
Rachel lives in Stockholm with her professional chef husband Robert Wiktorin and three children and she says that gender equality is at the helm of home as well as her workplace.
'I'm very fortunate in Sweden as there is shared parental leave,' she says.
'My husband took six months off with our first so I could write one of my cookbooks.
'When I film Bake Off I only bring one of my children along because the other kids are in school and my mum comes to help.
'It's a group effort and we're all supportive, but I support my husband in other ways. He's just as good a parent as I am.
'It's a two way street.'
Rachel Khoo's new range of Kettle Chip flavours, Honey Dijon Mustard (130g) and Brie & Caramelised Onion (130g) are available in major retailers from May (RRP £2.65).
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