Women’s language in female celebrity chef cookbooks

This article explores the gendered language used in female celebrity chef cookbooks. The analysis is a case study of three female celebrity chefs from the American cooking channel Food Network: Ree Drummond, Ina Garten, and Giada De Laurentiis. Relying on an interdisciplinary approach of interactional sociolinguistics, sociology, and feminism, this study identifies how the use of seemingly weak women’s language is used to enhance the celebrity chef’s appeal. Discourses of expertise, politeness strategies, and confessions build trust and rapport between the celebrity chef and the audience. This study complicates previous studies on gendered language and argues that women’s language strengthens the power and authority of female celebrity chefs as influential models of womanhood.