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.
An influencer’s publicity stunt backfired after she posted a clip of her preparing sourdough bread while on a flight, turning viewers against her
Share icon Image credits: Juno Kwon / Pixabay (not the actual photo) Captioned “Making sourdough bread on my flight to Spain,” the clip sees 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.” However, the reception she got couldn’t have been further from what she expected, with over 1,000 comments criticizing her idea. Share icon 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.” Share icon Image credits: leafandloafco “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
Share icon Image credits: leafandloafco 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. Share icon Image credits: leafandloafco One stewardess warned the baker about the dangers she could expose her sister to by baking aboard a plane, mentioning she had seen people “clip toenails, vomit, and even change diapers” on trays like the one the dough was being prepared on. “I’ve seen it all, believe me. Now here’s you, kneading and folding sourdough. Enjoy your germ-bread. That’s an airplane, not a bakery,” she added. Image credits: leafandloafco A post shared by Maria Baradell (@leafandloafco) 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
Share icon Image credits: leafandloafco The backlash got so intense that Baradell was forced to issue a response. In the follow-up video, she addressed her followers’ concerns by stating that she was only trying to be creative after being inspired by another influencer who was able to make pasta on a flight. “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.” Share icon Image credits: leafandloafco Her apology had a much better reception than her original video, with fellow bakery accounts congratulating her for taking a chance and gaining “new insight into what works and what doesn’t” when it comes to promoting her products. Share icon Image credits: leafandloafco Some users encouraged her to keep trying new things and valued the lessons learned by trying to make bread at such high altitudes, which the influencer confesses made the fermentation process much more difficult.
Despite the initial negative reaction, the original clip is by far the most successful of all videos featured on Baradell’s Instagram page, with over 16,000 likes
Share icon Image credits: leafandloafco While most users remained critical and some even said they would unfollow her, others said they were inspired by the stunt and would try to replicate it on their own flights, much to the dismay of opposing commenters. “This is something I would totally do. This is amazing! You’ll have to show us how it turns out!” exclaimed one fan.
A post shared by Maria Baradell (@leafandloafco) Image credits: leafandloafco “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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