Viewers label Dipna Anand as 'rude' and 'bossy'
ITV chef James Martin was left looking at the floor as he received an on-air scolding from one of his guest culinary experts.
Dipna Anand appeared on the programme with her father to cook their family’s legendary palak chicken, a Punjabi dish handed down from her grandfather, who served the dish in his 1950s Kenyan restaurant.
Things didn’t quite go to plan, however, as James got the pronunciation of the dish wrong and was “too slow” in his stirring.
The dish involved a raw chicken being cut up into 28 pieces, including its ribs and thighs. James first couldn’t get his tongue around the word “palak”, and added too much butter to the recipe – leading to Dipna snapping at him.
He asked: “What have I done?” as she muttered: “Nothing,” but James wasn’t having any of it. He pressed: “You look disappointed.”
Dipna admitted: “You were quite slow,” before warning him: “Woah that’s a lot of butter, that’s enough now.”
Explaining the dish, James asked: "What’s it called?" as Dipna replied: "Palak chicken. Palak is the Indian word for spinach. Say it properly - palak chicken."
James seemed to struggle as he asked: "Balak?" and Dipna snapped: "No. Yeah. Well... palak." When he got it a bit closer to being correct, she snapped: "Yeah, okay. Yeah I’m going to be making that. Dad’s gonna be chopping up a chicken into 28 plus pieces."
Fans on social media couldn’t cope with the tense atmosphere, with one writing on X: “Dipna Anand ripping James Martin a new one on James Martin’s Saturday Morning is epic to watch.”
Another echoed: “This chef on James Martin seems very angry with him haha.”
Another viewer joked: “James Martin getting his b***s busted by Dipna Anand was a joy to behold. To be fair, James took it in good humour. Great show.”
“Haha James Martin told off in his own kitchen!” somebody else echoed.
The dish proved a favourite with James, cooked in an onion and tomato masala with spinach. It was served with paratha, though the website advised it can also twin well with plain Basmati rice and chapatti.
