Bake Off critic Raymond Blanc had jaw broken by chef with copper pan

Women the UK over would have queued around the block to give the famed chef a piece of their minds, but one cook beat them to it

Bake-Off misogynist Raymond Blanc had jaw broken by chef with copper pan (BBC)

Women the UK over would have queued around the block to give famed chef Raymond Blanc a piece of their minds after his comments about 2013’s all-female The Great British Bake Off finalists and their equally 'female tears'.

But one chef beat them to it with such cracking force, he shattered Blanc’s jaw years ago.

Blanc described his slow – and somewhat cocky – ascent from glass cleaner to waiter at a restaurant he used to work at during a recent interview. But one day his arrogance got the better of him.

"I used to make the mistake of tasting the sauce and telling the chef: ‘How about a bit of paprika or lemon juice?’ He hated me but I didn’t know that. I was just so enthusiastic," he told the Metro. It seems the chef didn’t see it that way.

"One day, he took a copper pan and broke my jaw – I lost my job and was exiled to England, where I finally became a chef.

"I now owe a huge debt of gratitude to my English friends for making me a better Frenchman. You’ve taught me to laugh at myself, to listen when other people speak – no Frenchman does that, ha ha!"

And least of all… Mr Raymond Blanc.

Of course, he went on to become an internationally famed two-Michelin-starred patron of Oxfordshire restaurant Manoir aux Quat'Saisons with the three letters ‘OBE’ after his name.

He also became a public figure of feminist scorn after he suggested The Great British Bake Off finalist Ruby Tandoh was too thin to appreciate good food. And then there was the bit about female tears, too.

"The Great British Bake Off. Not much skills, female tears and a winner so thin who makes me doubt of her love for great cooking, baking," he tweeted back in October.

Tandoh fired back, saying: "'female tears'?! And what has anyone's size got to do with it? I don’t care if you're a patisserie king – don't be an idiot."

Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood stood up for Tandoh, tweeting back: "Wow Raymond have you seen the winner already???"

(Find out who the actual winner was here).

Blanc later apologised, saying: “It seems my tweet was not written how it was meant to. Frenchman writing English! I'm sorry I do not know who the winner is,” adding: “Sorry guys, I was a grumpy Frenchman this morning.”

But he did not apologise, it seems, for the ‘female tears’.