Food Discourse of Celebrity Chefs of Food Network

Food Discourse explores a fascinating, yet virtually unexplored research area: the language of food used on television cooking shows. It shows how the discourse of television cooking shows on the American television channel Food Network conveys a pseudo-relationship between the celebrity chef host and viewers. Excerpts are drawn from a variety of cooking show genres (how-to, travel, reality, talk, competition), providing the data for this qualitative investigation. Richly interdisciplinary, the study draws upon discourse analysis, narrative, social semiotics, and media communication in order to analyze four key linguistic features - recipe telling, storytelling, evaluations, and humor - in connection with the themes of performance, authenticity, and expertise, essential components in the making of celebrity chefs.

Kelsi Matwick, Ph.D., has taught at the University of Florida since 2010, teaching on writing, communication, and food, media, and culture. Her research expertise lies in the fields of media discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, and celebrity studies. 

Keri Matwick, Ph.D., is a Lecturer at the Language and Communication Centre at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. A food media studies scholar and sociolinguist, her research interests are in multimodal discourse analysis, food and language, and narrative.