NYT interviews Tieghan Gerard of Half Baked Harvest

November 2, 2023 by
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Half Baked Harvest is the one of the most popular blogs indexed in the EYB Library, and the corresponding books written by Tieghan Gerard, who is the heart and soul of HBH, have also generated loads of positive feedback from our Members. That is one reason I thought that Julia Moskin’s NYT profile of Ms. Gerard (gift link) would be interesting to our Members. Reading the comments under Moskin’s post, however, I noticed that many readers took umbrage with what they thought was a hit piece on Gerard.

I did not get that impression when I first read the article. I had heard about some of the controversies Gerard had faced over the years regarding a perception of cultural appropriation and theft of recipes by other bloggers, and I thought that Moskin presented these in an objective, matter-of-fact manner (and I so commented on Moskin’s post). Others disagreed, finding the controversies to be overblown and claiming that Moskin was jealous of Gerard’s success.

After re-reading the piece, I can see why some readers had their hackles raised. Moskin said she had to “negotiate” with “representatives who guard [Gerard’s] schedule and her image.” The terms “guard” (as opposed to manage) and “negotiate” (versus a more benign “correspond”) could be interpreted in a negative way. However, to think that a New York Times columnist is jealous of a blogger, no matter how successful, seems like a stretch.

On the whole, however, I still find Moskin’s piece to be balanced. Take this paragraph, for example:

“Ms. Gerard characterized her missteps as respectful enthusiasm for flavors from other cultures. Her critics say she enjoys unearned privilege because of her wealth and whiteness; she says she has worked hard for a decade to earn her following and success. They say she has no particular cooking skills and posts the same recipes over and over again; she says she meets her readers where they are.”

Moskin mentions what critics say and provides Gerard’s response. Should she have avoided mentioning any negative coverage of HBH? That doesn’t seem like good journalism. My impression as a neutral observer is that Moskin was annoyed because Gerard put her off for so long in scheduling the interview (it’s the NYT after all, most businesses would kill for a writeup there) and then without explanation changed the two dishes that Moskin and Gerard’s team had agreed upon. I would be irritated by that too. For Gerard’s part, I think she is a sheltered and relatively privileged woman who found a path to success that she is reluctant to change.

One quote from the article stuck with me. It was from someone who contributed to the Reddit thread that is mostly critical of HBH, stating that “At this point it’s bizarre that she [Gerard] never seems to take accountability or learn from her mistakes.” If what Gerard is doing continues to bring in new fans (and corresponding revenue), what is her motivation to change?

Category: Antipasto

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7 Comments

  • anya_sf  on  November 3, 2023

    Most bloggers seem to post variations on a recipe over and over again, often poorly edited, with misleading photos, and ridiculously long introductions that you have to read to achieve a successful dish. So annoying! Yet I have found some delicious recipes on these bloggers’ websites and continue to visit them. That’s the internet for you.

  • anya_sf  on  November 3, 2023

    Also – all bloggers seem to post the same recipe around the same time. Do they all message each other to coordinate this? But magazines do the same thing. And cookbooks published around the same time often have very similar recipes. So it’s definitely not just HBH.

  • Micklin  on  November 3, 2023

    I have mixed feelings also about HBH and it’s creator. I do enjoy many recipes but take most of the “fashion” and “high priced” skin regimes with a grain of salt. Occasionally I do become exasperated at the whole $50 candle posts. That’s a bit crazy for me but I can always scroll and delete as can we all.

  • gamulholland  on  November 3, 2023

    Well, getting all English-major here, but if the journalist did actually have to negotiate (“You can’t say this, you can’t ask that” with back-and-forth debate on what’s allowed), then that’s not just corresponding. “Guard” vs. “manage” is a bit closer, but assuming that she did indeed have to negotiate — if I’d just had to negotiate with people about what was and wasn’t allowed, I think I’d use the word “guard” as well. Also, I don’t follow HBH or have any of her cookbooks, so I have no opinion on her or her recipes — just years of grading papers and composition tutoring which have trained me in how to nitpick about language. 🙂

  • Vanessa  on  November 7, 2023

    The Foodie Snark on Reddit is sickening. Those folks are mean bullies. Furthermore, they proudly call Julia Moskin “one of us” and praise her for telling their story to the world on such a significant forum. The cruelty and hypocrisy are horrifying.

  • Dog1234  on  November 11, 2023

    If you know Tieghan, she’s incredibly hard working and that has spawned her success. She is a health nut and runs up a mountainside at 7am daily before working tirelessly until 11pm EARLIEST. As a very self disciplined woman myself, I can safely say that her self discipline and drive is unparalleled. She’s also extremely, almost disarmingly, kind and that’s coming from a person who knew her as an employee, not a friend. If I were a public figure I would guard myself from the media too!!

  • Hansgee  on  March 12, 2024

    Disappointed to read this from this site when I googled the article. The subreddit is weirdly obsessed with her, and the things they say about her ED are gross (I had one and people can be unbelievably cruel). However, Tieghan does not test recipes, she’s never tried to get any sort of formal training. I don’t understand why people take her seriously. That article was absolutely justified, especially since she calls something Thai simply because it has coconut milk. Her recipes are a bunch of photogenic ingredients slopped together and it’s wild to me that this woman has millions of followers when there are actual, good food creators out there. I considered this a respectable website and Tieghan doesn’t need a bunch of people who don’t know her to blindly stick up for her – she already has that. The article wasn’t cruel, it was honest. She’s not a chef, therefore she couldn’t produce. And therefore her team has to guard her and protect her, because she would fall flat on her face. The fact that people think she’s someone worth defending when all she does is steal recipes, post variations of the same things over without testing them (just throwing enough stuff against the wall until it sticks) and post $600 sweaters during a pandemic, is completely confusing to me. Yikes.

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