Serving Up Chineseness: Myths of Authenticity and Identity in Kylie Kwong’s Cookery Texts

Abstract

This paper seeks to examine the form and content of the culinary television programmes and cookbooks of Australian-Chinese celebrity chef and restaurateur, Kylie Kwong. It will utilise Bill Nichols’ theory of “The Challenge of Persuasion” to demonstrate how Kwong’s cookery show, Kylie Kwong: Cooking with Heart and Soul, is not just about food and cooking, but embodies particular ideologies and “myths,” as theorised by Barthes, about Chinese culture and identity. It also draws upon selected excerpts from Kwong’s cookbooks and food memoir, Kylie Kwong: Recipes and Stories (2003) and My China: A Feast for the Senses (2007), to unpack their representations of Chinese culture and identity. My aim is to elucidate how Kwong’s cooking show and cookbooks transcend their pragmatic function to become representational tools that carry specific meanings about Chineseness, both in terms of its production and consumption.