“This is inconsiderate,” said one passenger after abaking enthusiastdecided herflightwas the perfect place toprepare some sourdough breadfor her sister while documenting the process for her social media audience.
Maria Baradell, known as @leafandloadco on Instagram, is an influencer who often shares baking tips with her followers. In her latest video, she took her culinary skills to the skies, making a loaf from scratch while heading to Spain, much to the scorn of her fellow travelers.
“Want to see the final result?” Baradell teased in the video, which has since gone viral. The footage shows her mixing flour, water, and salt in a bowl on her tray table and kneading the dough to shape it, all while flying at 30,000 feet in the air.
Her viewers, however, were unimpressed, criticizing her for treating the plane as a kitchen.
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An influencer’s publicity stunt backfired after she posted a clip of her preparing sourdough bread while on a flight, turning viewers against her
Image credits:Juno Kwon / Pixabay (not the actual photo)
Captioned “Makingsourdough breadon my flight to Spain,” theclipsees the influencer pull out a small container, to which she then added the ingredients, water from a plastic bottle, and some spices.
For the influencer, the clip seemed to be the perfect publicity stunt to promote her products, which include an eBook, cooking ingredients, baking utensils, and a “starter pack.”
Image credits:leafandloafco
“Imagine sitting next to someone who suddenly pulls out bowls and ingredients to make bread,” one commenter wrote, while another added, “This is ridiculous! All for social media attention.”
From sanitary concerns to allergy claims, users chimed in to complain about her behavior, which netizens categorized as “attention-seeking.”
“This is inconsiderate for those with wheat or gluten allergies,” one person commented. “If we were seated next to you, I’d demand a new seat and a full refund.”
“This is disgusting. Think about all the skin cells flying around in the cabin, getting absorbed into the dough,” another argued.
Flight attendants chimed in to warn her of the unsanitary conditions of the trays she was baking in, as well as the risk the flour particles presented to allergic passengers
The complaints weren’t limited to just passengers or random viewers, as even flight attendants joined in to bash the influencer.
“I’m a flight attendant and I hate people like you,” one bluntly stated.
“She’s right. Do this at home, other people don’t have to clean after your mess,” replied another.
“I’ve seen it all, believe me. Now here’s you, kneading and foldingsourdough. Enjoy your germ-bread. That’s an airplane, not a bakery,” she added.
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The attendant also explained that some passengers, such as those with certain immune issues like celiac disease, can put the entire flight at risk if a severe allergic reaction were to be triggered due to the enclosed nature of the cabin.
Baradell apologized in a follow-up video, promising never to do it again and thanking her critics for their advice
The backlash got so intense that Baradell was forced to issue aresponse.
“Now I realize this wasn’t the best idea. Thank you to those who shared their feedback kindly but I understand if you are angry. I had good intentions.”
Her apology had a much better reception than her original video, with fellowbakery accountscongratulating her for taking a chance and gaining “new insight into what works and what doesn’t” when it comes to promoting her products.
“This is something I would totally do. This is amazing! You’ll have to show us how it turns out!” exclaimed one fan.
“Yes! Ignore the haters. Yeah, probably from the allergy perspective a little risky… but we live in an outrage culture,” said another.
“I loved this! Do not listen to naysayers! You have led the way for many of us.”
“Please don’t. I have celiacs and would have been very upset to have my entire long haul flight contaminated,” one of her detractors replied.
“Inconsiderate” Viewers reacted negatively to the publicity stunt, but fans of the baker remained supportive
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