Tieghan Gerard started cooking at the age of 13 to help her family. Little did she know, her act of service would grow into a business with 700,000 daily email subscribers, two million cookbook readers, and over five million Instagram followers – and be the start of the Half Baked Harvest controversy.
Gerard’s fame is thanks to the food blog she started in 2012, named Half Baked Harvest, which has been the subject of many controversies, including cultural appropriation, disordered eating, and recipe stealing. The 2023 Half Baked Harvest controversy about a Banh Mi recipe got so much backlash that it got covered by NBC News and affected Gerard’s New York Times profile article.
At Business2Community, we’ve outlined the key events of the controversy by looking at news articles, Instagram posts, Tiegan Gerard’s interviews, and expert comments. Besides a comprehensive timeline, you’ll also learn valuable lessons on influencer marketing and responsibility.
Half Baked Harvest Controversy – Key Facts
- In March 2023, Tieghan Gerard of Half Baked Harvest food blog shared a recipe called “The 25-Minute Banh Mi Rice Bowls”.
- She faced a backlash for her pronunciation of Banh Mi and for giving an inauthentic recipe.
- This wasn’t the first instance Gerard shared a wrong recipe – in 2021, she shared a chicken noodle dish with sesame chile sauce and called it chicken pho.
The Story of the Half Baked Harvest Controversy
The creator of Half Baked Harvest, Tieghan Gerard, was accused of cultural appropriation in March 2023 for giving an inaccurate recipe for a Vietnamese dish. Other controversies around her brand include disordered eating, stealing recipes, and giving wrong information about recipes’ origins.
About Half Baked Harvest and Tieghan Gerard
Half Baked Harvest is a food blog by Tieghan Gerard. She started it in 2012, and has since shared thousands of recipes with her followers. Besides her website, Gerard has a strong social media presence, with over 5 million followers on Instagram and over 700,000 on TikTok.
She’s the author of Half Baked Harvest Cookbook, Super Simple Cookbook, and Half Baked Harvest Every Day.
The 25-Minute Banh Mi Rice Bowls Recipe
In March 2023, Tieghan Gerard posted a recipe called 25 Minute Ginger Sesame Banh Mi Rice Bowls on Instagram. Her recipe featured coconut rice, curry paste, ground chicken, pickled vegetables, cucumber salad, and Thai basil.
In Vietnamese cuisine, Banh Mi refers to both bread and a sandwich dish made with baguettes, sliced meat, vegetables such as pickled carrots, cucumber, and daikon, along with spices, and condiments, unlike the rice bowl Gerard prepared.
On top of altering the recipe, Gerard also pronounced Banh Mi as “bon-my” instead of “ban-mee.”
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Backlash From Followers and Food Bloggers
Gerard received major backlash for giving an inauthentic recipe and mispronouncing Banh Mi. Comments mentioned white-washing, cultural appropriation, and misuse of her platform.
“You have a huge following. Make it right. I appreciate that you’re interested in food from across the world but do some research and perhaps collab with another creator who is from the culture you’re cooking from,” wrote a follower in the Instagram comments.
A TikTok user said she found Gerard’s recipe ignorant, as this wasn’t the first time the food influencer had made mistakes related to ingredients and pronunciations. As a result, the user suggested that Gerard call her dish “Asian-inspired” instead of Banh Mi and that she do better research.
@susiefoodie75 #greenscreen If you’re going to attempt a recipe from another culture, do your homework and apologize if you mess up. Don’t be silent and s**t on someone else’s culture. #foodlover #fyp #fypシ #foodie #culturalappropriation #bahnmi #vietnamesefood #halfbakedharvest @halfbakedharvest
Tieghan Gerard’s PEOPLE Magazine Interview
In an interview with PEOPLE Magazine, Gerard talked about the cultural appropriation accusations. She said:
I grew up in a small town and, yes, I definitely pronounce things incorrectly.
“I will full-on own that. I have a very difficult time with that. There’s learning disabilities involved. I’m not trying to disrespect a culture or anything like that. I’m just trying to share good foods,” she continued.
She denied the appropriation allegations, saying she is a home cook who’s never claimed to be an expert.
Other Half Baked Harvest Controversies
Here are other controversies around Tieghan Gerard and her Half Baked Harvest content:
Chicken Pho Controversy
In 2021, Gerard experienced a similar backlash to the Banh Mi controversy, when she shared a recipe titled Weeknight Ginger Pho Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Soup). After many people pointed out the recipe was not a pho, Gerard changed the recipe’s name to Easy Sesame Chicken and Noodles in Spicy Broth.
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Eating Disorder Rumors
Some of her followers are concerned that Gerard has an eating disorder. Others have even accused her of cooking high-fat food while never eating it. In her New York Times profile interview, she denied having disordered eating but admitted that she was experiencing social anxiety and separation anxiety.
Several dietitians and content creators made videos on how inappropriate it was for people to make comments about her weight.
@dietitian.gabrielle #stitch with @Mimi Bouchard half baked harvest is very talented and makes amazing content. However you should never make comments about someones bodys — this made me want to talk about my personal experience #halfbakedharvest #nutrition #wellness #mentalhealth
Recipe Stealing Accusations
Gaby Dalkin of What’s Gaby Cooking and Adrianna Guevara Adarme of A Cozy Kitchen have accused Gerard of stealing their recipes. Gerard denied the accusations, saying she never copied other bloggers’ recipes.
“I’ve loved elements of recipes, absolutely. I didn’t ever use salsa verde until I saw someone using it, and now I use salsa verde in so many recipes. But have I copied recipes? No. I actually try not to look at anybody else’s recipes,” were her words in defense.
Lack of Research into Recipe Content
Gerard has faced criticism from food experts, social media users, and other bloggers for constantly mispronouncing words and not doing enough research. In addition to the Banh Mi and chicken pho videos, she’s also called tacos with pineapple “Hawaiian” and noodles with honey and peanut butter as “Chinese”.
“Solid research should be the standard for any type of food writing. Even when I write about Viet food, I look things up and cross-reference. Doing good work is about being accurate, culinarily curious, and respectful — not just to a cuisine or culture, but to the people who follow you and rely on your work,” said Andrea Nguyen, a Vietnamese American food expert, in reference to Gerard’s chicken pho recipe.
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The Consequences of the Half Baked Harvest Controversy
The Half Baked Harvest controversy about the 2023 Banh Mi recipe received press coverage from major outlets like NBC News. Besides the 2023 controversy, the NBC article also mentioned Gerard’s inaccurate chicken pho recipe.
Her New York Times profile extensively talked about the controversies, with quotes from experts who called out on Gerard for her lack of research in recipes.
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In her PEOPLE Magazine interview, Gerard expressed her disappointment with the New York Times feature, saying she found it misleading and didn’t expect the negative comments in the article. The New York Times’ response to her statement was “We disagree with Ms. Gerard’s characterization of our profile. Our reporting strives to be fair and we do not make promises about our coverage being ‘positive.'”
What Can We Learn From the Half Baked Harvest Controversy?
Tieghan Gerard got mixed reactions for her Vietnamese recipes: some critics said it was cultural appropriation and that she should use her platform better, while others defended Gerard and said she only took inspiration from the original recipes.
Half Baked Harvest didn’t experience a significant loss of followers after the controversy. However, smaller brands might not be as lucky in similar situations. To avoid losing customer trust and receiving cultural appropriation accusations, thorough research is essential. In Gerard’s case, she could have chosen more accurate titles, collaborated with chefs or experts of Vietnamese origin, or emphasized that the recipe is her personal adaptation.
Another lesson from the controversy is to acknowledge mistakes. Gerard renamed recipes and promised she would pay more attention in the future, which shows that she values her audience’s feedback. Although some of her followers think she should do more, such as delete the videos and publish a formal apology, her actions indicate a willingness to learn and improve.
Influencers have a growing importance in social media and in the society. According to Impact’s The State of Influencer Marketing for Customers 2023 Report, 53% of consumers follow influencers for expert advice or how-to content. To do justice to their ability to shape opinions and trends, influencers must make sure their platform aligns with brand values, respects different cultures, and gives correct information.