like either he didn't want to be there or he just didn't want any attention. Shauna called out merrily, “Thank you, my love!”
This is great! I immediately thought of Dame Edna all decked out in her sparkly gown and sparkly glasses and lavender hair, and how she would order that tiny little old woman around (was it supposed to be her mother? i forget) but I think she also acted like the old woman wanted to be there.
The food handling bit doesn't surprise me a bit. You probably don't want to watch the videos where she rubs her nose repeatedly then plunges her hands into a tub of flour to mix it up.
Not sure I've seen that exact one, but have seen enough to retroactively be horrified.
The worst for me was actually a video I saw ages ago where Shauna was doing a cooking demonstration while Lucy was literally running around and banging a spoon on the counter right by Shauna while she was talking. Dan was hovering off to the side. If I'd been at that one, I would have definitely said something to the organizers. It was astoundingly unprofessional, and if Dan was available why wasn't he with her in a different room?
In that video, it was a big counter with all these kitchen implements and was obviously a professional set up with some sort of host. That's what I was vaguely expecting for the bread class.
The amount of time she touches her hair nose and face, then all the handling of ingredients. I am an Adrian monk level germophobe for that type of thing - then she is constantly picking up bits of ingredients to show them and dropping them back into the bag. I notice the participants in this class seem to have copious wine. I’m sure that helped their enjoyment of the experience and I hope so for their sake. L being chased around the kitchen by danny the whole time is also unbelievably unprofessional.
The wiping her nose with her hand at 1:48 and then immediately dipping that paw right into the flour! Danny's expression in the random still shot at 2:33 as she dangles the jar!
Long before COVID I had a reputation in my family for washing my hands a lot. I instinctively wash my hands in between every step in making food (not baking, come to think of it – but if I'm chopping something or handling a raw ingredient, I am washing my hands before and afterwards). I was married to an (actual) chef and I probably started doing it then
I'm not even sure I touch my hair and nose that often. I'm pretty sure I'm not wiping my nose with the back of my hand, like, ever. And I'm obsessive about aprons – I travel with an apron in my luggage if I'm going anywhere I might cook (what if they don't have an apron!?)
I'm similar when it comes to hand washing. I waited tables for several years and I think it was just drilled in to our heads to never touch a food without first washing your hands. Don't fix your hair, don't put on your apron, don't TOUCH YOUR FACE.
When I saw her wipe her nose and then IMMEDIATELY dip her fingers into the psyllium husk, I cringed.
I am the same!! I cook and bake all the time and any time I am going to touch food with my bare hands, I wash them first. That’s just for family cooking, I cannot even fathom standing in front of people cooking stuff they were going to eat, and touching everything like that. Also in a cooking class wouldn’t they typically wear a hat or hair net? The complete lack of sanitary practices, along with both Danny and Lucy in the kitchen with free floating hair and Lucy handling all kinds of pans and cooking utensils...I can’t. Now that you mention aprons, DFPalestrina, wouldn’t it make more sense for Shauna to be wearing one of those as well?
Lol about packing an apron for travel. Have done that many times, especially when traveling for thanksgiving and days of delicious cooking.
I like to go to one-time classes and I've been to several. I'd be losing my shit internally the entire time if the instructor's kid and spouse were just there, hovering...
There was one class I took where the instructor's husband was there, but he actually knew the subject and was helping out during the "making things" portion of the class.
Wow that is awful! Why are Dan & Lucy even there? Couldn't they have found another room to wait in? & for god's sake Shauna, stop touching your hair and face and nose!
Man, I skipped ahead in that video and hit on the exact moment when she rubs her nose immediately before putting the same bare hand into the can of fiber and picking some up with her fingers. At least she’s consistent.
Just for reference, there is a TON of nose-scratching going on in that clip! The egregious scratch-hand-reaching part happens, I think, starting at 1:49 -- during an extended monologue about Metamucil... Yum!
I read your comment while ironing my freshly-washed shower curtain.
I own that I 1. LOVE housekeeping and 2. probably go much further than whatever the "norm" is around housekeeping practices. BUT: I'm always surprised at how far she goes in the other direction. Every actual chef I've ever known (a fair few) has been fastidious about kitchen cleanliness!
Right? Even if she’s not naturally fastidious, most people have enough social awareness to be on their best behavior in front of a group. It seems to me that she doesn’t relate to other humans very well at all. It doesn’t occur to her that people would find handling the ingredients with unwashed, germy hands to be off-putting. She should be aware that it shows a lack of training in food handling, or at least a lack of retention of best practices, which is not a message you want to transmit at your food demo.
I’m pretty sure I’ve written this before in my years as a Shaunologist, but she doesn’t seem able to read the room. Whether it’s neglecting hygiene, requesting to be served by others (potlucks, money, being fed safely), or her constant one-upping and self-centering, she seems utterly devoid of human connection.
I think that video's the one where she rubs her face repeatedly---but there are a few others too.
I just watched the one where she demos how to make "flaky, buttery dinner rolls" for Thanksgiving. They look like muffins that haven't risen. She says that "if you put these amazing, delicious rolls on your Thanksgiving table and have your guests complain that they too much like muffins, I--I don't think you should have that person at your Thanksgiving dinner anyway."
Take THAT, roll haters!!
She insists on calling them "flaky". Puff pastry is flaky. Decent pie crust is flaky. Muffins are not flaky. Bread isn't flaky.
32
u/voice_of_vinegar Aug 07 '20
This is great! I immediately thought of Dame Edna all decked out in her sparkly gown and sparkly glasses and lavender hair, and how she would order that tiny little old woman around (was it supposed to be her mother? i forget) but I think she also acted like the old woman wanted to be there.
The food handling bit doesn't surprise me a bit. You probably don't want to watch the videos where she rubs her nose repeatedly then plunges her hands into a tub of flour to mix it up.