I have to confess that I was a little surprised to read about the massive divide between foodies over the Great British Bake-Off. I adore the show for the recipes and ideas and the sometimes hilarious contestants. I was even more surprised to read about the vitriol and name calling and gender divide that it appears to have engendered (heh, see what I did there? Didja? Didja?). But most surprising of all was the weighing in of various celebrity chefs, most notably Raymond Blanc.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Raymond. I don’t know why. Maybe because he seems so sweet. Maybe because I like his ethos of homegrown ingredients. Maybe because I’m a sucker for a French accent. Who knows? The point is, as much as I firmly believe his comments were taken out of context and blown wildly out of all proportion, it surprises me that he…