Food Critic Under Fire For Calling Chicken Parmigiana 'The Worst Dish Ever'

There are food items in Australian cafes and restaurants that we hold near and dear.

While some might not be specifically from the Land Down Under, Aussies treat pavlova, BBQs, prawns, Christmas hams, avocado, Vegemite on toast and many others as part of our identity.

So you can imagine the shock and horror that's come after an Aussie food critic claimed that a chicken parmigiana is 'the worst dish ever'.

Not sure what someone could dislike about chicken schnitzel topped with parma ham or aubergine, a tomato-based sauce and melted cheese. Pretty much every single pub in Australia will have a parmy, burger and steak on their menu, so how this food critic could dislike this Aussie icon is beyond us.

Callan Boys has written an opinion piece for Good Food Australia, saying it's 'a waste of kilojoules'.

The critic continues: "The schnitzel is already perfect with lemon, mash and gravy. Why anyone would want to make its crunchy coating soggy with sugo is beyond me.

"Tomato and chicken is a flavour combination with all the thrill of an Upstairs, Downstairs remake. Or, as English author Niki Segnit puts it in The Flavour Thesaurus, 'hard to get that excited about, once you've grown out of drenching your dinosaur-shaped chicken bites in tomato ketchup'."

Speak what you will about the delicious dish that is served everywhere, but it seems like Callan wasn't just taking aim at the food item.

"Chicken parma speaks of joints with too many TAB screens and not enough hand wash in the loo," Mr Boys continues. "It speaks of pub owners who reckon a $15 porterhouse is all you need to get punters through the door.

"It speaks of a chef who would rather be anywhere other than in a kitchen where 90 per cent of prep involves a Birds Eye box.

"With the loudest volume, it speaks of Milhouse men who miss Ralph magazine and post in WhatsApp groups with names like the 'Schnitty Committee' and 'Parmy Army'."

via GIPHY

Okay that last point hurt a little.

Clearly this critic is keen to see pubs and restaurants around the country beef up their menus a bit to offer bespoke, unique and interesting items that they can charge people $40 per plate.

For many people these easy pub meals are cheap enough to not only feed a hungry stomach but also get people through the door.

Plenty of pubs get loads of foot traffic through a $10 or $15 schnitty or parmy night so we doubt the humble parmy is going anywhere.

Featured Image Credit: avlxyz/Creative Commons

Topics: Food, Community, Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie