Dame Prue Leith, a prominent figure on the Great British Bake Off, shared a shocking kitchen mishap from her past that she refers to as a "shameful" accident. Speaking candidly, she recounted the incident in her article for i, discussing how, while pregnant and feeling "unbalanced" both physically and mentally, she accidentally stabbed a colleague with a knife.
Leith described the moment vividly, revealing she was holding a "short, sharp knife" when she lost her footing in the restaurant where she worked. In a desperate attempt to steady herself, she flung her arm out, inadvertently stabbing a chef in the groin. The 85-year-old judge thought at the time that she had "unmanned" the chef, a moment that led to panic and chaos in the kitchen.
"I once stabbed someone. By accident. I was cooking in my restaurant, and I was very pregnant at the time and pretty unbalanced, probably physically and mentally," she wrote. "I was standing by the range with a short sharp knife in my hand and I slipped. As I fell, I flung my arm out to try to save myself and stabbed the third chef in his groin. I thought I'd unmanned him. It felt like I'd stuck it into a leg of lamb." Leith's description of the event highlights not only the physical accident but also the emotional turmoil it caused her.
The incident required immediate action, and the team had to remove the injured man's trousers to stem the bleeding. However, the chef was understandably reluctant to do so in front of Leith, owing to his religious beliefs. "When I realized he needed help, it all became very frantic," Leith confessed. She admitted feeling queasy after the accident, stating that she rushed to the toilets to be sick as the shock of the incident sank in.
"When he'd recovered - after we gave him lots of attention and love and money as he was off work for a while - he said he'd used the compensation I'd given him to open a café in Barcelona. So, it all ended happily, although I'm sure he'd rather I hadn't stabbed him," she recounted, reflecting the lightheartedness that ultimately followed such a dramatic incident.
Prue Leith's culinary journey began in 1960 when she joined the Cordon Bleu Cookery School in London. Soon after, she launched her first enterprise, providing upscale business lunches. Her career flourished, leading to the opening of her Michelin-starred restaurant, Leith's, located in Notting Hill. She sold the restaurant in 1995 but had already made a considerable mark in the culinary world.
Not content with just cooking, Leith also founded the highly regarded Leith's School of Food and Wine, which became known for training professional chefs. Her foray into television started in the 1970s when she hosted a 13-episode magazine show focused on female audiences. Her role as an adjudicator on the Great British Menu spanned over a decade before she stepped down in 2016.
In 2017, Leith replaced Mary Berry on the beloved Great British Bake Off, bringing her unique flair and talent to the program. Although she has been a staple on the show alongside Paul Hollywood, she has recently taken a step back from its celebrity editions.
This incident sheds light not just on her personal experiences but also on the challenges faced in the high-pressure environment of professional kitchens. Prue Leith's open discussion of the "shameful" moment she experienced serves as a reminder that even the most seasoned chefs are not immune to accidents.
