BBC’s Saturday Kitchen’s Matt Tebbutt was forced to intervene during an awkward moment when guest Alfie Boe revealed he was not fond of a dish chef Bryn Williams had prepared for the show.
The 51-year-old presenter was hosting the celebrated singer alongside Welsh chef Williams, who had prepared pink lamb cutlets with a tomato, onion, and courgette ratatouille in honour of Saint David’s Day.
The moment began as Boe took on the traditional task of naming his food heaven and hell, in the hope the public would vote for the chefs to prepare his favourite meal – which in this case was anything Italian.
“My hell is aubergines,” he admitted. “I’ve tried parmigiana, and I just think they’re so mushy—unless you dry them out properly, they’re just so mushy.”
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However, the singer also added courgettes to his list of hated foods before realising realising Williams’ dish featured the vegetable he had just criticised.
The Les Misérables star appeared visibly uncomfortable as the courgette ratatouille was just about to be dished out on the table.
He looked across to Williams and winced: “Sorry about the ratatouille.”
The revelation left both Tebbutt and Williams knocked off balance, with the host turning to the chef and quipping: “Didn’t get that memo, did we?”
Williams, equally caught off guard, simply replied: “No, we didn’t!”
Despite the initial awkwardness, the situation resolved itself when chef presented the steaming plate to the Boe, who cautiously took a bite.
“Amazing, wonderful—you’ve won me over on the courgettes, actually,” he admitted.
The episode wasn’t without further mishaps as Tebbutt later took centre stage – recreating Rick Stein’s Montpellier Butter recipe with hake, a bony fish, in favour of salmon.
As Boe took a bite, he immediately pulled back, prompting Tebbutt to ask: “Did you just take a mouthful of bones?”
The singer nodded, confirming he had.
“Sorry about that, I should have said—be careful, there are bones in that,” Tebbutt quickly apologised, his face bashful.
“That’s okay, I only have to sing with the choir at the end,” the singer shot back with a laugh.
