Society of the Culinary Spectacle: An Analysis of the Mediated Relationship Between Female Celebrity Chefs And the Kitchen

Gender remains a primary issue in the culinary, area, and a diachronic analysis of the portrayal of women in food media highlights the role that representation plays in both reinforcing and easing this divide. By examining the personas of Julia child and her televisual descendants, Food Network stars Anne Burrell and Ree Drummond, it becomes apparent that commercial celebrity has become dependent on the fulfillment of the traditional gender norms that are encoded within "chef" and "cook" types. However, the continuous diversification of media forms has spawned and informal breed of culinary star, and women have been able to scramble the gendered codes being emphasized in broadcasting; Christina Tosi and Molly Yeh serve as prime examples of how the new media environment is affording women the opportunity to forge their own public personas.