In the 2018 season of The Great British Baking Show, Rahul Mandal could do no wrong in the eyes of the show’s judges and hosts, his fellow bakers and the viewers. His lengthy explanations were endearing and his bakes nearly always perfect — no wonder he won that season. But in Episode 2 of this year’s Great British Baking Show: Holiday special, Rahul reveals the one thing about himself that just might give his many fans pause: his extreme love for butter. 

Now, you might be thinking, “What’s so surprising about that? Rahul is a baker, of course he loves butter!” But, you should know that his love for butter is so intense that even the other GBBS bakers comment on it. In fact, it’s fellow contestant Henry who tips off the world to Rahul’s buttery passion. While Henry’s weighing out 700 grams of butter for buttercream, GBBS co-host Matt remarks on the huge amount of butter. Henry’s response? “Rahul says he eats it from the block, which is quite disturbing.” A few minutes later, still in shock, Matt approaches Rahul and asks if he really eats butter straight from the block. “Yeah,” the baker responds. Then — without any additional prompting — he adds: “If I have to choose between chocolate and butter, I would choose butter. I love butter.” He! Loves! Butter! In fact, Raul loves it so much that he later slices a pat off a block and eats it plain, saying, “The way it just goes down your throat is amazing.”

You would think the pleasure Rahul obviously takes in eating butter would be greeted with understanding by his fellow bakers. But you’d be wrong! It’s greeted with judgment and skepticism, as if liking butter were an oddball quirk — or perhaps even an unforgivable food sin. But, as someone who’d gladly eat a spoonful (or more) of straight mayonnaise, I not only get where Rahul’s coming from but also want to ask: “When an ingredient is so delicious, why can’t it be eaten all by itself?” 

The unwritten rules around what qualifies as a stand-alone food versus what’s merely an ingredient or condiment are, frankly, arbitrary. Really, what’s the difference between eating pats of butter like they’re slices of cheddar cheese and eating it spread on something like toast? Something you could also do with cheese! It makes no sense to condemn butter eaters, and I applaud Rahul for daring to buck this type of made-up statute. I also agree with him and think butter is so unbelievably tasty that it’s often hard to resist not taking a nibble while spreading it on my morning English muffin. Now that I’ve seen a Star Baker fully embrace butter as a treat in itself, I feel emboldened to go even further and just think of a stick of butter as a snack.

Still, Rahul went further than simply saying that butter is incredible enough to be consumed straight from the block — he specifically said that butter is better than chocolate. Did he go too far? Don’t answer that.I have thought long and hard enough about this for all of us and landed on no. Rahul did not go too far. In fact, maybe he didn’t go far enough. Straight chocolate, in my opinion, is often not even worth bothering with. Yes, I’ll take it with nuts, shortbread, coconut or other accouterments, but I will never be caught eating a plain Hershey bar or, ugh, plain M&Ms. 

Butter, on the other hand, slays all on its own. Its creamy texture offers a magnificent mouthfeel and its savory salinity dances on the taste buds. Butter’s inherent nuttiness can be made more prominent simply by heating it on the stove, no additional ingredients necessary. If you’re not familiar with brown butter, boy, are you missing out. For plain chocolate to be satisfying on its own, it needs to be high quality and the exact right percentage of cacao. And while, yes, there are some brands of butter that really do reign supreme — Kerrygold, I’m lookin’ at you — I’ve never tasted a butter I didn’t love. 

And so, rather than scorn Rahul when it comes to eating butter in its purest form, give it a try! There’s nothing controversial about his — or anyone’s! — intense love for butter. When it comes to Rahul’s obsession with drinking milk, though — well, the less said, the better.