Gregg Wallace has been mocked after he shared a tomato pasta recipe on his Instagram account, which one particularly harsh critic said looked like something a child would make. Posting a video online, the former MasterChef presenter described the dish as an “easy dinner”.
He showcased a simple pasta sauce comprising tomatoes, onion, garlic and oregano. The 60-year-old then combined his sauce with farfalle bow pasta before finishing it off with grated parmesan cheese. The dish was quickly ridiculed by users.
Wallace – who was dismissed by the BBC in July amid allegations of misconduct – explained: “A fresh, lovely, easy tomato sauce.
“Roughly chop up some tomatoes, dice an onion, as easy as that. Now soften the onion in some olive oil. This peels the skin of the garlic.”
The former television personality – who is pursuing legal action against the broadcaster – continued: “Grate the garlic into the onion, put the tomatoes in. Let it simmer away.
“There, I’m adding oregano. Tomato sauce on the pasta. Finished with a bit of parmesan cheese. Robert’s your father’s brother.”
One critic described it as “the sort of recipe you learnt in home economics when you were 12,” adding: “The week after you made beans on toast with cheese on top.”
Another said: “I made this for my girlfriend last night, she absolutely enjoyed it and asked me where I got the recipe from… I said it was a Gregg Wallace recipe… She dumped me.”
One person, apparently shocked, said: “Wow. I never realised you actually can’t cook.” Another made one simple request: “Please turn it in.”
However, some came to Wallace’s defence, with one user saying: “So what if its easy? We like easy. No need to be mean.”
Another added: “Sometimes that’s all you need. Some nights spend hours prepping [a] lush meal, other times, something simple. Each person can make their own choices.
“I mean, you could go to the pot noodle page and tell them their snack is too easy too if you really want.”
Wallace replied: “Love this”.