Prue Leith, the esteemed judge of The Great British Bake Off, has recounted a particularly alarming incident from her culinary career, revealing that she once accidentally stabbed a fellow chef in a kitchen mishap. The incident occurred while she was pregnant, a time she described as making her feel “unbalanced” both physically and mentally.

In an account published in The I, Leith detailed the moment of the accident, explaining how she was holding a short, sharp knife when she slipped. As she sought to regain her balance, her arm flung out and she inadvertently stabbed a third chef in the groin, prompting her immediate concern. “I thought I’d unmanned him,” she remarked, reflecting on the chaos of the situation which she characterised as “shaming”.

Following the incident, urgent measures were needed to attend to the chef’s injury. Leith explained that his trousers had to be removed to “stem the bleeding.” However, the chef was initially reluctant to do so in her presence due to his religious beliefs, adding further tension to an already distressing situation. Overcome with nausea, Leith found herself rushing to the restroom, compelled to vomit. She speculated that her reaction could be attributed to both her pregnancy and the shock of having injured someone.

Despite the severity of the incident, she noted that the chef received considerable attention during his recovery. “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,” she said, revealing a somewhat positive outcome from what began as a traumatic experience.

Prue Leith, now 85 years old, began her culinary journey in 1960 at the Cordon Bleu Cookery School in London. She subsequently launched her own business providing premium lunch services before opening Leith’s, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Notting Hill, which she sold in 1995. Her educational contributions continued with the establishment of Leith’s School of Food and Wine, where she dedicated herself to training aspiring chefs.

Her television career took off in the 1970s with a magazine programme aimed at female audiences. She served on the judging panel of The Great British Menu for over a decade before joining The Great British Bake Off in 2017 as a replacement for Mary Berry, a role she continues to fulfil alongside Paul Hollywood. However, in recent times, Leith has indicated that she is taking a step back from the celebrity edition of the show, citing her advancing age as a reason for the change.

Source: Noah Wire Services