5 Celebrity Cookbooks That Failed Miserably
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Why is it that some celebrities decide to write cookbooks? Do they sit at home, enjoying their homemade meatballs, thinking that because they're a talented actor or reality show star other people will enjoy their meatballs as well? Or do they simply have no trouble getting a cookbook deal because they have a famous name? Whatever the reason, plenty of celebrities have released cookbooks, and some of them really shouldn't have. Here are five celebrity cookbooks that failed miserably.
Boy George
Apparently none other than the Karma Chameleon himself, Boy George, is a fan of macrobiotic cuisine, so much so that in 2001 he published a cookbook with the help of his "macrobiotic mentor," Dragana Brown, called Karma Cookbook: Great Tasting Dishes to Nourish Your Body and Feed Your Soul. "Among the delights are Creamy Carrot Soup, Sizzling Soba, Crunchy Filo Parcels, Watercress and Shiitake Salad, and Apricots with Vanilla Custard," the description reads. Sadly, it's out of print.
Kate Gosselin
This reality TV star has published several books in a continued attempt to cash in on having eight children, and in 2013 she even published a cookbook called Love Is in the Mix, which "shares the Gosselin family's favorite recipes for every day and entertaining, a very important ingredient when creating special family time," whatever that means. Apparently those family favorites include items like pizza meatballs, something called K8 Salad, sausage bean bake, buffalo pretzels, and "edible dough for play."
Kris Jenner
If you'd prefer to eat like a Kardashian instead of a Gosselin, then head over to In the Kitchen with Kris: A Kollection [sic] of Kardashian-Jenner Family Favorites, written by none other than "America's favorite momager" herself and published in October 2014. It contains "nearly 70 favorite recipes that have become the centerpiece of Kardashian-Jenner family traditions" as well as tone-deaf gems like "My children all know how obsessed I am with table settings and I've received several sets of Hermès dishes from my daughters. Table settings. Napkins and napkin rings. Baccarat crystal glasses and vases. Candles and candle holders. I'm obsessed with it all." Sixty-eight out of the 132 Amazon reviewers gave it one star.
Smash Mouth
Remember Smash Mouth? That 90s band with hits like "All Star" and "Walkin' on the Sun"? For some reason, they decided to write a nearly 400-page cookbook, Recipes from the Road: A Rock 'n' Roll Cookbook, full of their own recipes as well as guest recipes from folks like rocker Sammy Hagar and Guy Fieri (of course). If you're like us and didn't even know that this band still existed, well, the band that cooks together stays together, apparently.
Olivia Newton-John
In 2012, the Grease star published a cookbook called Livwise: Easy Recipes for a Healthy, Happy Life. "Assembled using Olivia's own experience in the kitchen and with the help of nutritionists, friends, and chefs from Gaia, her Australian health retreat and spa," she's compiled a collection of healthy recipes, from chickpea patties and carrot salad to trout with cauliflower puree. It's been a while since we heard anything from Newton-John, and we certainly didn't expect her to stage a comeback-via-cookbook.