LONDON: A BBC plan to shut down its recipe website left Britons simmering Tuesday at the demise of a resource offering free tips on cooking everything from lemon drizzle cake to scrambled egg.
The move was announced as part of a push to save £150 million ($220 million) after Prime Minister David Cameron’s government told the national broadcaster to slim down.
Nearly 70,000 people and rising have signed a petition opposing the closure and calling the 11,000 recipes, some from celebrity chefs like Nigella Lawson, “much loved” and “precious.”
Thousands also took to Twitter to protest.
“Can’t imagine there is ANYONE in the UK who cooks who won’t be upset,” wrote user Olivia Crellin.
“Literally 90% of my dinners are from #bbcrecipes,” added Aniqah C.
A BBC spokeswoman insisted that while the website was being closed and no further recipes would be added, people would still be able to access existing ones.
But media reports suggested the recipes could become hard to find.
The broadcaster said in a statement that its online activities would now focus on “six flagship areas after a review to ensure they remain high quality and distinctive.”
The move was announced as part of a push to save £150 million ($220 million) after Prime Minister David Cameron’s government told the national broadcaster to slim down.
Nearly 70,000 people and rising have signed a petition opposing the closure and calling the 11,000 recipes, some from celebrity chefs like Nigella Lawson, “much loved” and “precious.”
Thousands also took to Twitter to protest.
“Can’t imagine there is ANYONE in the UK who cooks who won’t be upset,” wrote user Olivia Crellin.
“Literally 90% of my dinners are from #bbcrecipes,” added Aniqah C.
A BBC spokeswoman insisted that while the website was being closed and no further recipes would be added, people would still be able to access existing ones.
But media reports suggested the recipes could become hard to find.
The broadcaster said in a statement that its online activities would now focus on “six flagship areas after a review to ensure they remain high quality and distinctive.”
