Abstract
This chapter focuses on the imagined kitchen in a range of texts (culinary fiction; visual representations and memoirs) in order to provide a broader cultural understanding of how we ‘do home’ and the role of improvisation in this. As the place where food is prepared or recreated, and where well-used objects acquire a patina over time, the kitchen is arguably the site in the home which gives most rise to nostalgia and longing. This is an arena in which ideas about individual and shared identities are played out, through the use (or ‘misuse’) of objects in that space. Drawing on theories from material culture and cultural geography, the chapter considers the representation of culinary objects in constant dialogue with the self. Unpredictable kitchen gadgets can map out the ultimate modern domestic space, while also defining that space as ripe for recollection, fantasy and creativity.
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Bryden, I. (2017). The Book, the Napkin Ring and the Salad Bowl: Creating the Perfect Kitchen (or Not). In: Harper, B., Price, H. (eds) Domestic Imaginaries. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66490-3_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66490-3_2
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