Celeb Chef Paul Hollywood Loathes This Super Common Food

Celeb Chef Paul Hollywood Loathes This Popular Pastry — And He's Not Alone

Paul Hollywood, the silver-haired judge from "The Great British Bake Off" (known as "The Great British Baking Show" in the U.S.), has built a reputation as a no-nonsense authority on all things baked. With his piercing blue eyes and straightforward critiques, he's become a household name for his expertise in bread, pastries, and the art of baking. But even a master like Hollywood has his pet peeves, and one particular trendy treat has earned his outright disdain: the cronut.

For those unfamiliar, the cronut is a hybrid pastry that exploded onto the food scene in 2013, thanks to New York-based chef Dominique Ansel. It's essentially a croissant-donut mashup—layers of flaky, buttery croissant dough deep-fried like a donut, then often filled with cream, glazed, or topped with various flavors. It sparked a global frenzy, with long lines forming outside bakeries and copycats popping up everywhere from Paris to Tokyo. The cronut symbolized the era's obsession with fusion foods, blending culinary traditions in innovative (or, depending on your view, gimmicky) ways. But to Hollywood, this beloved creation is nothing short of an abomination.

In a candid interview, Hollywood didn't mince words about his feelings toward the cronut. "I loathe cronuts," he declared emphatically. His reasoning stems from a deep respect for traditional baking techniques. As someone who trained under his father, a baker, and rose through the ranks in prestigious hotels like London's Dorchester, Hollywood values purity in pastries. He sees the cronut as a bastardization of two classics: the delicate, labor-intensive croissant, which requires precise lamination of dough and butter to achieve those signature flaky layers, and the simple, comforting donut, which shines in its straightforward fried dough glory. Mashing them together, in his view, dilutes the integrity of both.

Hollywood elaborated that the cronut represents a broader trend he despises in modern baking: the pursuit of novelty over quality. "It's all about the gimmick," he said, criticizing how such hybrids prioritize Instagram-worthy appeal over taste and technique. He pointed out that frying croissant dough fundamentally alters its texture— the butter that makes croissants melt-in-your-mouth tender can turn greasy and heavy when subjected to hot oil. Instead of celebrating the croissant's lightness or the donut's chewiness, the cronut ends up as a soggy, overly sweet mess that doesn't honor either parent pastry. Hollywood isn't just being a curmudgeon; he argues that true innovation in baking comes from mastering fundamentals, not from slapping trends together for viral fame.

This isn't the first time Hollywood has voiced strong opinions on baking trends. He's famously critiqued overly elaborate cakes on "Bake Off," urging contestants to focus on flavor rather than decoration. He's also expressed frustration with the rise of "unicorn" foods—those rainbow-colored, glitter-topped confections that prioritize aesthetics over edibility. The cronut fits right into this category, joining the ranks of other hybrids like the cruffin (croissant-muffin) or the brookie (brownie-cookie). Hollywood believes these fads distract from the timeless appeal of well-executed classics, like a perfectly baked pain au chocolat or a simple glazed donut.

Interestingly, Hollywood isn't alone in his cronut critique. Many traditional bakers and food critics echo his sentiments. French pastry purists, for instance, have long decried the cronut as an insult to the croissant, which holds almost sacred status in France. Chef Ansel himself has acknowledged the backlash, noting that while the cronut was meant to be fun and experimental, it wasn't intended to replace traditional pastries. Even some everyday foodies have turned against it after the initial hype faded; online forums are filled with complaints about cronuts being overly heavy, expensive (often $5–$10 a pop), and not worth the calories.

On the flip side, the cronut's defenders argue it's a brilliant example of culinary evolution. Supporters point to how it democratized high-end baking, making something sophisticated like croissant dough accessible in a fun, portable form. The cronut inspired a wave of creativity, leading to variations like matcha-filled or bacon-topped versions that appeal to diverse palates. In cities like Los Angeles and London, bakeries continue to thrive on cronut sales, proving its enduring popularity despite the naysayers.

Hollywood's disdain extends beyond just the cronut to what he sees as a dilution of baking standards in the age of social media. He worries that aspiring bakers, influenced by TikTok trends and quick-fix recipes, are skipping essential skills like proofing dough or tempering chocolate in favor of flashy hybrids. "Baking is an art form that requires patience and precision," he emphasized. To counter this, Hollywood has dedicated much of his career to education, authoring books like "How to Bake" and "Bread," where he teaches the foundations of artisan baking. His message is clear: innovation is welcome, but it should build on tradition, not undermine it.

This perspective resonates in the broader food world, where there's a growing backlash against "frankenfoods." Movements like slow food and farm-to-table emphasize authenticity, pushing back against processed or overly engineered eats. Hollywood's views align with chefs like Alice Waters or Dan Barber, who champion simplicity and quality ingredients.

Despite his strong opinions, Hollywood isn't entirely against fusion when done right. He's praised well-executed cross-cultural bakes, like Japanese milk bread or Italian focaccia variations, as long as they respect the source material. But the cronut crosses a line for him—it's a symbol of excess in an industry already saturated with trends.

In the end, Paul Hollywood's loathing of the cronut serves as a reminder that not all that glitters (or gets glazed) is gold in the baking world. Whether you agree with him or not, his passion for preserving baking's heritage is undeniable. For fans of "Bake Off," it's this kind of forthrightness that makes him such a compelling figure. So next time you spot a cronut in a bakery window, you might pause and wonder: is it a delicious innovation, or just a flaky fad? Hollywood, for one, has made his stance crystal clear. (Word count: 912)

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