Romanticised chefs and the psychopolitics of gastroporn

Abstract

The article discusses the figure of the celebrity chef and explores what can be called the culinary metaphorics of the self. It is argued that this ubiquitous contemporary figure is represented in terms borrowed from Romanticism, something that allows it to function in a way analogous to the Lacanian ‘Name-of-the-Father’. Furthermore, the article probes into the culinary esthetics and its relation to the production of the self. It is argued that contemporary culinary culture can be understood as a rite of passage that corresponds to certain neoliberal transitional demands in relation to the self.