A British celebrity baker who built his career on artisanal sourdough has angered many Mexicans by dismissing their bread as “ugly” and lacking in nuance, then scrambling to apologize from the city where he now lives and works.
Richard Hart, a London-born baker and co-founder of Green Rhino bakery in Mexico City’s trendy Roma Norte neighborhood, questioned Mexico’s bread-making traditions during an interview on the Danish podcast Pop Foodie Radio.
EL PANADERO CON EL PAN
Desde 1927…
Una de las panaderías que han hecho historia en la Ciudad de México, sus fundadores, inmigrantes españoles con experiencia en repostería europea, llegaron con el propósito de ofrecer productos de alta calidad.#CronicasDeBanqueta#arturotrejo pic.twitter.com/jF9wMudkMo— Crónicas de Banqueta (@cronicabanqueta) October 4, 2025
He said Mexicans “don’t really have much of a bread culture” and “they make sandwiches on these white, ugly rolls that are pretty cheap and industrially made” — remarks seen as a swipe at everyday bolillos and teleras.
In a separate segment, Hart said, “Most people in Mexico eat sweet bread. They call it bread, but it’s more like pastries and buns. You know, they call everything bread, like croissants … It’s pretty obvious, because their version of a sandwich is the taco … you know, for Mexicans, that’s their sandwich.”
He also criticized Mexican flour. “What they use is completely processed, full of additives, like dough strengtheners and things like that.”
Hart later issued an apology, promising “to listen more and speak less” and “demonstrate through actions — not words — the respect that Mexican culture deserves.”
But by then the comments, though recorded in April 2024, had spread rapidly across social media after they were revived this month, provoking a wave of criticism.
“Don’t mess with the bolillo,” warned one post on X.
Others said Hart’s remarks minimized a bread tradition rooted in the Mexican Revolution and sustained by neighborhood panaderías that remain social hubs.
“He wants to be the Christopher Columbus of bread,” pastry chef Tania Medina told The Guardian, accusing Hart of “stomping” on a country that had welcomed him.
Commentator Rodrigo Sierra told The Guardian that Mexico has more than 600 kinds of bread, including pan de muerto for Day of the Dead, and called Hart’s view “very Eurocentric.”
“Bread is embedded in our culture … it’s an important part of a Mexican’s ritual,” he said.
Julio González of the Mexico City bakery project Buñuelo wrote on social media that “sometimes, when a lack of information is mixed with arrogance, it’s usually called ignorance.”
The backlash also intersected with broader anger over gentrification in Mexico City, where some residents say foreign arrivals drive up rents while catering mostly to tourists and expatriates.
Green Rhino itself offers items priced from about 50 pesos (US $2.77) for a flavored concha to 75 pesos (US $4.17) for an apple croissant to 165 pesos (US $9.15) for a sourdough loaf made with toasted pumpkin seeds, olive oil, garlic and rosemary — far above typical bakeries serving bolillos and pan dulce.
As the backlash grew, Hart issued his apology on Instagram and in Mexican media.
“I want to offer a clear and sincere apology. I made a mistake, and I deeply regret it,” he said. “However, my words didn’t reflect that respect; in this country, I’m a guest, and I forgot to act like one.”
He added: “I don’t expect an apology to erase the harm done, but I do want to take responsibility for learning and correcting my mistakes.”
Hart made a name for himself while working at Tartine in San Francisco, then co-founded Hart Bageri in Copenhagen. He moved to Mexico City and opened Green Rhino bakery in Roma Norte in June 2025.
He is a James Beard Award winner for his cookbook “Richard Hart Bread: Intuitive Sourdough Baking” whose work at Hart Bageri inspired a storyline for the FX series “The Bear.”
With reports from Infobae, Associated Press, El Financiero and The Guardian
