Petrona Carrizo de Gandulfo (June 29, 1896 – February 6, 1992), better known as Doña Petrona, was an Argentine best-selling cookbook writer,

home economist Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences (often shortened to FCS or FACS), is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and f ...

, television chef and businesswoman who was famous for "her elaborate dishes, provincial accent, matronly figure, didactic tone, and bossy treatment of her assistant Juana Bordoy, as well as her responsiveness to fans".Pite, 2013. p. 3 Although recognized as "the most famous Argentine cook", she was quoted as saying in 1985: "I never wanted to be anything other than a

. No one, except my friends, can say that they had Doña Petrona in their kitchen at any time."Pite, 2013. p. 13 Her

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (food), course (appetize ...

''El libro de Doña Petrona'' (Spanish for "Doña Petrona's book") was first released in 1933 and continues to be published, with over one hundred editions. It has been translated into eight languages. Argentine journalists have called it "the best-selling book in Latin America".Pite, 2013. p. 6 In addition to being a commercial and editorial success, the book is a

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

object and old editions are highly valued by

collectors Collector(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Collector (2011 film), ''Collector'' (2011 film), an Indian Malayalam film * Collector (2016 film), ''Collector'' (2016 film), a Russian film * Collectors (film), ''Collectors'' (film), a 2020 So ...

. Doña Petrona built a

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms, such as Text (literary theory), writing, Sound, audio, images, animations, or video, into a single presentation. T ...

empire around her own name and used it to establish herself as the most popular and commercially supported

celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in Books, printed publications. While telev ...

in 20th-century Argentina.Pite, 2013. p. 7 Over her seven-decade-long career, Doña Petrona was a highly influential figure for Argentine

housewives A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which may include Parenting, caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; Sew ...

.Pite, 2013. p. 4 She had a lasting impact in

Argentine cuisine Argentine cuisine is described as a blending of cultures, from the Indigenous peoples of Argentina who focused on ingredients such as humita, potatoes, cassava, peppers, tomatoes, Poroto, beans, and yerba mate, to Mediterranean cuisine, Medit ...

and is regarded as a

cultural icon A cultural icon is a person or an cultural artifact, artifact that is identified by members of a culture as representative of that culture. The process of identification is subjective, and "icons" are judged by the extent to which they can be seen ...

. Her figure has been compared to that of

Isabella Beeton Isabella Mary Beeton ( Mayson; 14 March 1836 – 6 February 1865), known as Mrs Beeton, was an English journalist, editor and writer. Her name is particularly associated with her first book, the 1861 work ''Mrs Beeton's Book of Household ...

in the United Kingdom, as her "popularity stemmed from her ability to tap into the desire for 'expert' domestic advice among the emerging middle classes".Pite, 2013. p. 5 Her closest counterparts can be found not in other

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

nations but rather in the United States, having points in common with

Fannie Farmer Fannie Merritt Farmer (23 March 1857 – 16 January 1915) was an American culinary expert whose '' Boston Cooking-School Cook Book'' became a widely used culinary text. Education Fannie Farmer was born on 23 March 1857 in Boston, Massachusetts, ...

Betty Crocker Betty Crocker is a brand and fictional character used in advertising campaigns for food and recipes. The character was created by the Washburn-Crosby Company in 1921 to give a personalized response to consumer product questions. In 1954, Gener ...

Irma Rombauer Irma Rombauer (, October 30, 1877 – October 14, 1962) was an American cookbook author, best known for ''Joy of Cooking, The Joy of Cooking'' (1931), one of the world's most widely read cookbooks. Following Irma Rombauer's death, periodic revisi ...

and

Julia Child Julia Carolyn Child (Birth name#Maiden and married names, née McWilliams; August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for having brought French cuisine to the American pu ...

. However, due in part to Argentina's more concentrated media market, Doña Petrona's success "compares to not one, but all the major legends of home cooking in the United States put together."

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Petrona, Dona Argentine television chefs Argentine food writers Cookbook writers People from La Banda Argentine people of Spanish descent Argentine people of indigenous peoples descent 1896 births 1992 deaths

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