Gwyneth Paltrow Could Dominate Food Industry
By: Anthony Adragna
Published: April 14, 2011

She's already well on her way. Paltrow released her own cookbook, My Father's Daughter, recently and it's not only popular but pretty good. Paltrow is already a Hollywood A-lister for a variety of other reasons (a talented actress, married to Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin, rising singing talent). Could she be adding cooking to that arsenal of skills? Signs point to yes and here's why:
1. Reviews say her cookbook is pretty good: Any cookbook that has a forword with Mario Batali earns some points, but Paltrow's has been gaining steam nationally. It currently resides at #6 on Amazon's bestseller list. Critics seem like they want to hate the book, but simply cannot. The Atlantic is highly critical of the unusual (read expensive) ingredients that Paltrow calls for in some of her recipes like duck bacon or Vegenaise, and the additions one would have to make to their own kitchen to cook some of the recipes. However, the writer goes on to say, "it was put together by someone who really does love food and cooking." Salon seems to agree with the people at The Atlantic: "once you get past your initial nausea of Gwyneth's clueless haute couture sensibility, the recipes themselves are relatively simple and easy to make." In short, Paltrow definitely shows signs of her privileged upbringing and includes foods that everyone may not be able to afford, but unlike so many other celebrity cookbooks, she actually seems to value food and cooking. She held a dinner party celebrating its release. Guests included: Jay-Z, Cameron Diaz, Michael Stipe, Jerry Seinfeld.
2. She had a food show on PBS: In 2008, a very odd foursome of people consisting of Spanish actress Claudia Bassols, New York Times writer Mark Bittman, Paltrow and Batali toured Spain and produced a show, "Spain...on the road again" from it. They celebrated the rich culinary traditions across various regions of the country. Among other interesting discoveries: Paltrow speaks pretty good spanish. You can see a clip of the show below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnbHn8vUpeU
3. Paltrow May Have a Cooking Magazine in the Works: The New York rumor mills are working overtime with this one. They suggest that magazine publisher Hearst is considering an entire magazine based around Paltrow and cooking. Previously, Hearst helped turn Oprah's celebrity status into the highly profitable O magazine. A company spokesman declined comment on the rumor. Paltrow has been spotted mingling with food celebrities at a relaunch party for Bon Appetit.
4. Martha Stewart Said It: Earlier this week, the queen of daytime cookery took to twitter and asked, "Is gwyneth the next martha? Her new book was feted on 11th st tonight-it's a cookbook." If that's not a guarantee, I don't know what is.
What do you think? Can Paltrow create a food empire?
Photo by cplbasilisk