Food media [electronic resource] : celebrity chefs and the politics of everyday interference / Signe Rousseau.

ISBN:

9781350042193

Title:

Author:

Rousseau, Signe, 1975-

Personal Author:

Rousseau, Signe, 1975-

Edition:

English ed.

Publication Information:

London ; New York : Berg, 2012.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxxiv, 195 p.)

Subject Term:

Celebrity chefs.

Cooks.

Food habits -- Social aspects.

Obesity in mass media.

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

Click here to view

Publication Date:

2012

Publication Information:

London ; New York : Berg, 2012.

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Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
641.50922 23	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ONLINE	Searching... Unknown

There have been famous chefs for centuries. But it was not until the second half of the twentieth century that the modern celebrity chef business really began to flourish, thanks largely to advances in media such as television which allowed ever-greater numbers of people to tune in. Food Media charts the growth of this enormous entertainment industry, and also how, under the threat of the obesity "epidemic," some of its stars have taken on new authority as social activists, while others continue to provide delicious distractions from a world of potentially unsafe food. The narrative that joins these chapters moves from private to public consumption, and from celebrating food fantasies to fueling anxieties about food realities, with the questionable role of interference in people's everyday food choices gaining ground along the way.Covering celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver and Rachael Ray, and popular trends like foodies, food porn and fetishism, Food Media describes how the intersections between celebrity culture and food media have come to influence how many people think about feeding themselves and their families - and how often that task is complicated when it need not be.

Author Notes

Signe Rousseau teaches critical literacy at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. She is a contributing author to The Business of Food: Encyclopaedia of the Food and Drink Industry ; Food Cultures of the World ; Icons of American Cooking ; The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America , and A Cultural History of Food , Volume 6: The Modern Age (Berg, 2011)

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

Rousseau (School of Management Studies, Univ. of Cape Town, South Africa) wrestles the stage from the pop divas of 30-minute meals to question who or what leads people in their quest to feed themselves. Rousseau probes the lackluster enthusiasm of the food media culture to make a connection between food-knowing and food-doing; maps the players and the politics of food; and identifies a smorgasbord of conversations about food media. This work offers an enlightening account of the media business of food and explains the thinking behind this growing entertainment industry, from eye-candy presentations to slick foodie tomes, and its influence on consumers. This book is organized in three parts: "Food Media: A Fantasy Industry," "The Rise and Rise of Food Television," and "How Not to Think about What to Eat." Implied expertise, i.e., celebrity and formula driven, will always be light on understanding, while most people would rather move forward with the objective of simply educating and feeding themselves. Rousseau uncovers the formula for doing so in this provocative book. As in her blog , she provides an invaluable framework for the critical examination of trending food-related issues, which will appeal to both professional and student learners alike. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels of undergraduate students; professionals; general readers. T. J. Smyth Kingsborough Community College-CUNY

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Reviews (1)

Choice Review