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Photo via @jamieoliver/Twitter

British celebrity chef’s paella gets absolutely trashed on Twitter

These owns are tastier than any entrée.

 

Miles Klee

Internet Culture

Posted on Oct 4, 2016   Updated on May 25, 2021, 9:15 pm CDT

There’s no accounting for taste, but there’s a very simple explanation as to why the people of Spain are roasting British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver over his so-called paella: He totally fucked it up.

The restaurateur and one-time host of the Naked Chef series was foolish enough to post his recipe on Twitter, having learned nothing from the many cooks before him who dared to appropriate and/or ruin a regionally specific cuisine. Still, it looked tasty!

https://twitter.com/jamieoliver/status/783251738509836288

As the Guardian reported, commenters wrote that “the inclusion of chorizo meant the recipe absolutely could not be described as a paella in keeping with the dish’s true, Valencian origins.” But most people weren’t nearly that polite about the faux pas.  

Some simply resorted to name-calling.

Or appropriate GIF reactions.

https://twitter.com/Zurdo/status/783262440486297605

At least one observer called it “a crime against humanity.”  

Others turned the tables with ridiculous spins on British fare.

https://twitter.com/phobophille/status/783261095389790208

Or their own take on paella.

But everyone, and I mean everyone, was angry.

https://twitter.com/AnageMidos/status/783267113242882048

https://twitter.com/AnageMidos/status/783271094098755584

The best burn, however, was nothing short of art.

Will Oliver ever be able to set foot on the Iberian Peninsula again after this outrage? Only if he prefers to get roasted in person, I guess.

Update 6:09pm, Oct. 4: As Twitter’s comms team has pointed out, Spanish chef José Andrés found the whole controversy a little overblown and came to Oliver’s defense.

Hey, as long as everyone leaves the dinner table satisfied, right?

H/T Guardian

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*First Published: Oct 4, 2016, 10:52 am CDT