REVIEW: Hilton finds recipe for success with Cooking With Paris

9 August 2021

With the likes of Gordon Ramsay, Marco Pierre White, Nigella Lawson, Guy Fieri and Bobby Flay lending their considerable culinary talents to the small screen, it’s pretty much a free kick to say that we love the heck out of a cooking show.

A self-assured chef translating years of culinary training and commercial kitchen experience into how to make the perfect roast lamb for a family of five, has proven to be TV ratings gold (not to mention the proliferation and success of competitive cooking shows like MasterChef).

Enter Paris Hilton.

The socialite who herself helped pioneer the reality genre with her series The Simple Life, has entered the already abundant arena of TV chefs with her new Netflix series Cooking With Paris.

The show, comprised of six, easily digestable 20-odd minute episodes sees the hotel heiress hang out with one of her famous gal pals in the kitchen. They cook, they chat, and eventually enjoy the fruits of their ‘labours’ in Paris’ dining room which gets a makeover each episode to match the theme of the food.

Here, Paris cooks up a whimsical breakfast with Kim Kardashian, goes Italian with Demi Lovato, dives deep into steak night (complete with gold flaked onion rings!), tries her hand at vegan burgers with comedian Nikki Glaser and more.

Should I watch it?

If you’re more about the patter than the professionalism when it comes to cooking shows, you should absolutely give Cooking With Paris a crack.

I mean, you’re not going to learn how to boil an egg, essentially because it’s debatable if the host has mastered that skill, but you’ll have one heck of a breezy, glittery, and often hilarious time.

What you will learn is that, before filming, Paris had no idea what tongs were, nor what a dishwasher is called, and that her fave food group is cereal.

There is something endearing about this fish-out-of-water scenario. Especially seeing Paris sashaying her way around her kitchen in arguably the most impractical cocktail dresses imaginable throwing out expert-level cooking tips like “kitchens don’t clean themselves. Bummer!” or “cotton candy is just sugar with more personality.”

Wise words!

Sure, it’s vacuous, extravagant and definitely more on the side of so-bad-it’s-good television but Cooking With Paris stands apart from the current glut of small screen culinary fare largely because Paris looks to be having a whale of a time in the kitchen – something not seen in a celeb chef since the likes of Ainsley Harriott.

That’s hot!