Saturday Kitchen viewers have made their concerns about the latest episode of the show blatantly known. The 27 April instalment was hosted by Matt Tebbutt, and was dedicated to Ken Hom, the Chinese-American chef, author and presenter who was celebrating 40 years on British TV.
To honour the 74 year old's successful career, today's Saturday Kitchen menu was themed, with the culinary lineup cooking up some of the most classic Chinese dishes. Plus, some of Ken's personal favourites.
During one of the cooking segments, Chef Tong was tasked with whipping up a tasty peking duck. However, eagle-eyed viewers were shocked when they noticed a string of kitchen no-no's taking place before their eyes.
As Chef Tong was explaining the process, viewers watched him season the duck with multiple spices, before stuffing it with spring onion and ginger. Following this, he soaked the raw duck in hot water and picked up a tea towel to pat it dry. But, fans of the show noted that he also used the same tea towel to dry his hands after washing them without soap, and then picked up a cooked duck that had been prepared earlier.
After noticing the 'cross contamination,' a slew of people took to X, formerly known as Twitter to call out the major hygiene issue. Many also directly addressed Saturday Kitchen to plead with them to do better, noting that the guests on the show would be eating the 'cross contaminated' dishes.
"Chef used the same teatowel to dry off the duck! Wipe his hands, then use same one to pick up cooked duck!! Hygiene on this program is disgusting!! Running hands under tap with no use of soap is NOT washing hands, then using a pre used tea towel to dry," one viewer expressed.
Meanwhile, another fan echoed the sentiment, simply typing: "The contaminated towel," accompanied by a mind blown emoji.
Others chimed in on the hygiene issue, with a third viewer writing that there was "too much cross-contamination going on for me. #saturdaykitchen."
Shortly after, a fourth person added: "These chefs on #SaturdayKitchen need to remember their basic food hygiene skills."
Back in the studio, it seemed that today's guests weren't particularly bothered about - or didn't notice - the hygiene mishaps. Rather, when the peking duck was ready to eat, presenter Matt drooled: "It's just delicious. I'm so excited," while Helen McGinn, the show's drinks expert admitted that duck is one of her favourite foods.
