Controversial MasterChef critic William Sitwell slammed as a ‘pompous prat’ after he calls Somerset locals ‘fat fingered farmers’ and ‘grizzled builders’ in review of new Holm restaurant
- Masterchef judge William Sitwell prompted outrage with a restaurant review
- Sitwell, 52, referred to locals as ‘fat-fingered farmers’ and grizzled builders’
- The comments were in a review of Holm restaurant in South Petherton, Somerset
- Sitwell left as editor of Waitrose magazine in 2018 after writing of ‘killing vegans’
Outspoken food writer William Sitwell has once again courted controversy after describing villagers as ‘fat-fingered farmers’ in a review of a country restaurant.
William Sitwell, 52, infamously quit as editor of Waitrose magazine in 2018 after rejecting a freelancer’s pitch for a series of features on vegan recipes, emailing her: ‘How about a series on killing vegans, one by one?’
The dark ‘joke’ prompted outrage when the freelancer, journalist Selene Nelson, shared it online and Waitrose quickly distanced itself from Sitwell.
Now, the longstanding Masterchef judge has prompted uproar once again while writing about the newly-opened Holm restaurant in the village of South Petherton, Somerset.
Sitwell praised the restaurant but described locals as ‘fat fingered farmers’ and ‘grizzled builders’.
The Eton-educated critic pondered whether it would remain open, adding: ‘Maybe there’ll be a vote on it in a heated meeting of the parish council.
William Sitwell, 52, who quit as editor of Waitrose magazine in 2018, has courted controversy with his latest review of a country restaurant
Sitwell has angered an entire village – by calling them ‘fat fingered farmers’ in a review of Holm restaurant in south Petherbridge
‘Old farming types whose fingers are too fat for phones and who refuse to bank online in league with grizzled builders who only trade in cash versus the trendy Somerset newbies and these restaurateurs from London with their fancy parfaits and biodynamic wines.’
His comments sparked outrage among the community, who took to to social media to vent their irritation and called him a ‘pompous prat’.
One local pub, The Brewers Arms, even invited ‘fat fingered farmers’ and ‘grizzled builders’ to feel welcome in the pub on a brightly painted sign outside.
Sitwell is a food columnist at The Telegraph and has been a longstanding judge on BBC’s Masterchef since 2008. He has also appeared on the TV shows Taste, London’s Greatest Hotels and The One Show as a food critic.
Proud of his Eton College background, Sitwell wrote a column for The Telegraph in 2020 saying that while it was elitist, he remembered it with ‘huge affection’ and looked on in horror as it ‘cowers under attacks’.
Local businesses poked fun at Sitwell’s review, inviting ‘fat-fingered locals’ and ‘grizzled builders’ to their hospitality
In a positive review about the new restaurant, Sitwell described how Holm’s building is a former bank which features a cashpoint in a wall.
Elsewhere he wrote: ‘My starter was a light and delicate chicken liver parfait, which might shock those fat-fingered locals, but was nectar to those happily exposed to metropolitan ways.’
The owners of Holm were dismayed by the critic’s comments, writing on Facebook that the business ‘does not share the author’s sentiments’.
They said: ‘It goes without saying that we don’t share the author’s sentiments about local people and we’re saddened that an otherwise complimentary piece has been marred by rude and unnecessary rhetoric.
‘We are delighted to have been welcomed into the community with a great deal of warmth and acceptance, and have thoroughly enjoyed creating relationships with individuals and businesses in South Petherton and the surrounding areas.
‘Hopefully anyone who has visited the restaurant has seen that we are a welcoming, friendly space, who hold our community, our stakeholders and our suppliers with utmost respect.’
The Brewer’s Arms also mocked Sitwell’s insults and quipped that they accepted ‘bushels of hay and straw’ as well as money
Locals meanwhile expressed their irritation with Sitwell’s comments online.
One man posted: ‘Just read William Sitwells appalling review of local people, farmers who are the backbone of rural villages’.
John Lister wrote online: ‘What a pompous prat! Might be ok to talk about your locals around your grotty London bubble, but it’s not done around here.’
Jude Ryall wrote: ‘Just read William Sitwell’s appalling review of local people, farmers who are the backbone of rural villages.’
Sitwell today said he planned to ‘offer an olive branch’ to locals, posting on Twitter that he thought the sign outside The Brewers Arms was ‘genius’.
He added: ‘The only people who can take a joke are old Etonian toffs like me’.
WHO IS WILLIAM SITWELL?
William Sitwell made headlines in October 2018 when as the editor of Waitrose Food magazine editor he resigned over remarks about ‘killing vegans’ and force-feeding them meat.
Mr Sitwell wrote a hostile email to vegan freelancer Selene Nelson who had pitched an idea for the magazine, saying: ‘How about a series on killing vegans, one by one’.
Waitrose said Mr Sitwell, who had worked with them for 20 years, was leaving with immediate effect ‘in the light of his recent email remarks’.
The magazine claims on its website to have 680,000 readers. Mr Sitwell writes for several UK publications and is a critic on Masterchef UK.
Mr Sitwell – full name William Ronald Sacheverell Sitwell – is a great-nephew of avant garde poet Dame Edith Sitwell.
He was once married to aristocrat Laura McCorquodale, a kinswoman of famous romantic author Dame Barbara Cartland.
Last year he tied the knot to his second wife, Emily Lopes, daughter of the late Devonshire race-horse breeder the 3rd Lord Roborough.
The Sitwell family has held a baronetcy for more than 200 years and has owned the country house of Renishaw Hall in Derbyshire for even longer.
Emily’s cousin, Harry, is married to Laura Parker Bowles, daughter of the Duchess of Cornwall.
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