UK television cooking show Sunday Kitchen has come under fire on social media after one of their guests was fed ghee on live TV, despite knowing he was vegan.
Host Simon Rimmer was forced to apologize during Channel 4's popular show Sunday Brunch after comedian Jon Richardson - a vegan - was fed a dish of Masoor dhal cooked by chef Asma Khan.
You can watch the apology in the video below:Khan had made a version of the dish containing ghee-fried prawns for the other guests, but as they all tucked in, some whispered took place around Richardson, who was standing at the side, evidently not planning on trying the seafood dish.
Rimmer then told Richardson: "The dhal is vegan, Jon, obviously the prawns aren’t", which led to the 37-year-old comedian taking a spoonful and trying the apparent plant-based dish.
Many viewers then speculated whether or not Khan had used a plant-based ghee for the dish, despite not being specified on air.
This was not the case, however, it was later revealed that Khan did, in fact, use a regular version of the clarified butter, made from cow's milk.
After returning from the commercial break, host Rimmer was forced to apologize after Richardson was served the non-vegan ingredient - although, this was performed rather tongue-in-cheek. Rimmer said:
"Earlier on in the previous cooking item I may have informed guests that the dhal was in fact vegan. 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.
"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."
Some viewers found the apology rather "weak" and accused the show of making light of the situation:
However, Jon didn't seem too perturbed, as he joked: "When I’m sick during my interview, you can take responsibility for that. But it was delicious. And it could be vegan".
