As the festive season approaches, a fierce culinary debate is reigniting, championed by one particularly opinionated food writer. Katy Guest, a deputy editor for Guardian Opinion, has strapped on her armour for a final stand on a controversial gastronomic hill: the absolute prohibition of serving meat and fruit together on the same plate.
The Battle Lines Are Drawn
Guest, who describes herself as a "grumpy old woman in the prime of my pedantry", is no stranger to defending arbitrary red lines. She has previously clashed with pavement phone-starers and debated the definition of 'real sport' in hostile pubs. However, her most passionate crusade is reserved for the dinner table, specifically the tradition of combining savoury meats with sweet fruits.
Her primary festive target is the classic Christmas combination of roast turkey and cranberry sauce. "Please don't ever offer me cranberry sauce with my roast turkey," she declares, dismissing the condiment as merely "jam on your Christmas dinner". For Guest, this pairing is the epitome of culinary wrongdoing, a sentiment she extends far beyond the holiday season.
No Exceptions Allowed
Readers and colleagues often try to propose acceptable exceptions to her strict rule, but Guest remains unmoved. The suggestion of pork with apple sauce is met with firm rejection: "Bacon is for a sandwich and stewed apple goes in pie... they do not belong in the same bite."
Her list of forbidden fruit-and-meat unions is comprehensive and vehemently enforced:
- Duck à l'orange is dismissed for non-French enthusiasts.
- Lamb with redcurrant jelly receives a "hard no".
- Mango chutney served with curry induces a "massive boak".
- The mere whisper of "ham and pineapple pizza" is considered obscene.
Even suggestions like Coronation chicken (with its "squishy raisins") or prosciutto with melon are swiftly rejected. She clarifies her position: "I love meat – ideally with gravy – and then fruit, for pudding." The two food groups, in her view, must remain strictly segregated by courses.
The One Savoury Condiment That Gets a Pass
In a notable concession that underscores her very specific logic, Guest makes a single allowance. A burger, she argues, can and should be served with plenty of ketchup. Her reasoning hinges on a technicality: "Because a tomato identifies as a vegetable and should be accommodated as such." This, she states, is another culinary hill she is prepared to die on.
For Katy Guest, the rules are clear: lamb belongs with mint, ham with mustard, and turkey perhaps with a side of coleslaw. But as families across the UK prepare their festive feasts, her staunch opposition to sweet and savoury fusion promises to keep the dinner table debate alive and fiercely contested.
