Martha Stewart has built an entire career on knowing her way around a kitchen, so when she posts food advice online, people tend to pay attention. That’s especially true when the topic is something as sacred as a bagel.
Over the years, Stewart has shared countless tips on everything from baking techniques to hosting etiquette, often blending practicality with her trademark polish. Her social media presence, meanwhile, has become a place where she mixes lifestyle advice with a slightly mischievous sense of humour, occasionally nudging her audience just enough to spark a reaction.
That reaction arrived in force this week after Stewart uploaded a series of photos to Instagram documenting what she described as her preferred way of eating a bagel. At first glance, the images looked typically Martha: a pristine white plate, a seeded bagel, a tub of cream cheese and a lemon wedge arranged with deliberate care. Still, as followers clicked through the post, confusion quickly set in.
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Rather than slicing the bagel in half and loading it up with a generous schmear, Stewart’s method involves cutting it down, tearing it into small pieces and topping each bite individually. In the caption, she explained: “How to eat a bagel!!!!!! Taught years ago by my daughter Alexis Stewart… 1. choose a @popupbagels bagel I love poppyseed… 2. Cut in half… 3. Take a half of a half and break into sweet little pieces… 4. Sweet little pieces can be topped with flavored or unflavored cream cheese. Always satisfied never too full!”
It was that final result, scattered pieces, modest dollops of cream cheese and an unmistakable air of restraint, that left many viewers baffled.
One popular comment read: “Love you Martha but it’s 2025 we can eat whole bagels now,” while another summed things up more bluntly with: “This is unhinged, Martha."
Others leaned into humour. One follower wrote with a laughing emoji: “Straight to jail," as another joked: “Did a pigeon write this."
Several commenters questioned the aesthetic choices too, asking: “What’s the lemon for? Is it just an aesthetic?”
Not all of the responses were light-hearted. Some accused the post of leaning into outdated food attitudes, with one user saying: “I love you but this is straight up boomer diet culture. Eat the bagel girl.”
Another added: “It’s giving ED vibes, no thanks."
As the comments rolled in, Stewart appeared to acknowledge the growing backlash by editing her caption to include a disclaimer, writing: “CAN’T ANYONE TAKE A JOKE?????? YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?!!!! anyway it’s very satisfying to eat a bagel like this.”
Hey, her bagel canape idea could well take off...
Topics: Cooking, Social Media, Celebrity
Ben Williams