When you think of Paris Hilton, what comes immediately to mind? For me, it’s Kim Kardashian and velour tracksuits. But the one thing I never would have associated her with is cooking. That is, until Netflix decided to team up with Hilton to create “Cooking With Paris,” a 6-episode series that features Paris and her celebrity friends cooking recipes straight out of her bedazzled pink cookbook – or at least attempting to do so. Guests on the show include Kim K herself, Demi Lovato, Lele Pons, Saweetie, Nikki Glaser, mom Kathy Hilton, and sister Nicky Hilton.
After reading up on Paris’s revealing documentary This Is Paris that came out in 2020, I went into the show thinking that I was going to see a different version of the Paris Hilton I expected to see. In the documentary, she talks about redefining her brand in order to move away from glitz and glamour usually associated with her in order to move towards things that really matter, which for her includes opening up about the abuse she suffered during her teenage years and becoming an advocate and voice for other survivors of abuse. Based on this information, I thought I would be watching a cooking show with a more mature and justice-motivated Paris Hilton, but what I got was the complete opposite of that.
The first — and every — episode of the series begins with Paris dressed to the nines in a designer gown navigating a local grocery store or eatery to purchase the products necessary for that episode’s themed dinner. The outfits are ridiculous for grocery shopping, but I guess that’s what Paris is all about because ridiculously out-of-place clothes continue to make an appearance, especially when she’s cooking. Whenever I’m cooking or baking in my kitchen, the best I’m wearing is sweats and a t-shirt, so I can’t even begin to imagine how she cooks in those outfits. Her extravagant dresses are always paired with what she calls “sliving gloves” — “sliving” being a combination of the phrases “slaying” and “living your best life.” Throughout the series, she’s never long separated from her gloves and even though cooking in silk gloves is ridiculous, I have to give her props for doing it because of how hard it looks. Paris also stores all of her recipes in a recipe book covered in glitter and fake gems with, of course, a picture of her in an apron pasted on the front. The whole book looks like it was made by a toddler, from the front to the recipes written inside in about 15 different colored pens.
After Paris and her guest of the day finish up whatever dish they’ve decided to attempt, they sit down to eat in a room of Hilton’s house that has been transformed based on each episode’s theme. We get to see sneak peeks of the transformation occurring throughout each episode, but the final products never disappoint. In episode 4, Paris and Demi Lovato tackle Italian cuisine and the house is transformed into an Italian villa complete with vintage photos that Hilton jokes aren’t even her family members. These set-ups must cost her an insane amount of money and knowing that honestly just adds to my dislike for the show.
I could talk about how ridiculous the set-up of this show is for ages, but I think the biggest thing that’s wrong with it in my eyes is that it’s not at all believable. For me, the best thing about cooking shows is that I can learn something from them and apply it to my future cooking or baking ventures. I love watching chefs like Giada De Laurentiis or Bobby Flay on Food Network because they’re likeable and knowledgeable about cooking. But I don’t really believe that Paris knows how to cook at all. It often seemed like this show was the first time she’s ever been in a kitchen or a grocery store. In episode 3, she asked her celebrity guest what a whisk was and in episode 4 she dumped an exorbitant amount of sprinkles and glitter on her holiday turkey. For me, the only redeeming quality about this series is that for people that struggle with cooking, the way she navigates the kitchen might be somewhat relatable, but then again, I would assume that even inexperienced chefs know what a whisk looks like and what it’s used for.
I think the show is perfect for fans of Paris, but for those like me who only really know her as Kim Kardashian’s friend, it’s a lot to handle. When Paris was at the height of her fame and notoriety in the early 2000s, I was still a toddler, so watching this show was my first taste of what Hilton is like, and in all honesty, it was pretty difficult for me to watch. I think the idea might have been to emulate the energy of shows like “Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Party Challenge,” especially since every episode featured a new celebrity guest, but I don’t think it came anywhere close. The good thing about “Martha & Snoop ” is that Martha Stewart has all of the cooking knowledge and expertise, and her and Snoop’s relationship makes the show funny and entertaining. Hilton has what seems like zero cooking experience and it doesn’t seem like any of the guests do either, so for me, the show falls flat. I think I’ll stick to taking my cooking advice from Martha and Snoop from now on.