Men define their masculinity by constructing cooking as a leisure activity rather than one of labour, and as a special event performed in their free time in a manner that is laidback and almost playful (Hollows, 2003: 239). Accordingly, men assert their masculinity by cooking as an occasion and as a form of creative leisure because it is distanced from domestic obligation and labour that are associated with women’s position in the gendered division of labour (Hollows, 2003: 243). This form of masculine domestic cookery was popularised by cooking shows such as The Naked Chef, whose host Jamie Oliver kept the mundane and repetitive characteristics associated with feminine domestic cookery at a distance, informing his viewers that domestic care performed by men is a ‘luxurious indulgence’ (Lupton, 1996: 146).
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In doing so, he relieves the tension ‘between domesticity…and men’s working lives’ (Hollows, 2003: 237). Jamie Oliver’s brand of domestic masculinity has been adopted by men, and arguably sells “a discourse of accessibility and achievability” (Moseley, 2001: 39). His portrayal of the ‘lad’ while cooking is reflected through his insistence that cooking must always be “a laugh” (Hollows, 2003: 233). Further, Oliver and therefore the ‘new lad’ cook according to leisure, which is often associated with choice (Adler, 1981:
In doing so, he relieves the tension ‘between domesticity…and men’s working lives’ (Hollows, 2003: 237). Jamie Oliver’s brand of domestic masculinity has been adopted by men, and arguably sells “a discourse of accessibility and achievability” (Moseley, 2001: 39). His portrayal of the ‘lad’ while cooking is reflected through his insistence that cooking must always be “a laugh” (Hollows, 2003: 233). Further, Oliver and therefore the ‘new lad’ cook according to leisure, which is often associated with choice (Adler, 1981: