Gilmore Girls Fans Point Out The Flaws In Sookie's Kitchen
"Gilmore Girls" had a lot of memorable characters, but the single most beloved Stars Hollow figure of all, other than the Gilmores themselves, may be Sookie St. James. The stringently loyal best friend of protagonist Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham), Sookie was the kind of unwaveringly supportive stand-up gal whom anyone would dream of having in their corner. However, she was also much more than just Lorelai's friend, to the point where following her exploits became the thing a lot of "Gilmore Girls" fans looked forward to the most on each episode. It's no wonder the character served as a springboard for a career as fruitful and prestigious in both comedy and drama as Melissa McCarthy's; any given episode of the show serves as evidence of how much of a command the actress had on both storytelling modes from the very get-go.
As beloved as Sookie was, however, one aspect of her character did often become the subject of ribbing among fans — her work as a chef. On "Gilmore Girls," Sookie is an accomplished cook who holds a job as the executive chef at Lorelai's Independence Inn, and later becomes the head chef and co-owner of the Dragonfly Inn alongside her best pal. And, while the show always went to great lengths to show how much of an ace the character was in the kitchen, some elements of her work did stick out as unrealistic or far-fetched to those who had cooking experience of their own, beginning with her kitchen.
Reddit users found Sookie's kitchen unrealistically cramped and chaotic
"Gilmore Girls" was the sort of show that was just as much about the vibes as it was about plot and situation specifics. So maybe it was for mood-setting reasons that Sookie's workspace at the Independence Inn was depicted in a nearly fantasy-like manner — cozily messy and cramped, with produce all over the counters and confections lying out in the open all around. Which, as any professional chef can attest, would be a recipe for disaster in real life. On that note, when Reddit user u/Pearls_and_Flats asked "What's Your Dumbest Nitpick?" on the r/GilmoreGirls sub, the most-liked comment, by u/Sorry_Engineer_6136, was specifically calling out that bit of artifice.
"Everything about Sookie's kitchen. The cornucopia of fresh produce covering every bit of counter space, even on the dishwasher. Baskets of bread, shelves of cakes, near-empty fridges. As a chef/baker it always drives me up the wall," the poster wrote.
Interestingly, a pair of commenters both pointed out that the unaired pilot featured a more realistic professional kitchen, yet seemed to disagree about whether it was preferable. U/haileyskydiamonds wrote, "I know it doesn't look professional but it looks so pretty and cozy! The unaired pilot has a stainless steel industrial kitchen in the Independence and it is just so cold and sterile looking." Meanwhile, u/Thirty_Helens_Agree noted, "I saw a little of the unaired pilot. The Sookie scenes with Alex Borstein were totally different. They're in what looks like a real pro kitchen."
Sookie's cooking and kitchen habits were also questioned by some
In the same comment where they called out Sookie's kitchen, u/Sorry_Engineer_6136 also pointed out that it wasn't just the production design that made Sookie's kitchen work unrealistic. "Also, Sookie saying that she put too much yeast in her cookies and that's why they turned into that shape. Yeast in cookies?! Oy vey," they wrote.
They weren't the only Reddit user who took note of how chaotic Sookie's kitchen habits were. U/usernamenumber3 stated, "Her kitchen AND her kitchen etiquette (or lack there of!) drives me nuts." U/joseph_sith concurred, writing, "My husband loves to point out every food safety violation in her kitchen scenes! I would not eat a single thing from her kitchen."
Several commenters noted that the show often depicted Sookie engaging in bad kitchen practices like walking around without warning people that she was carrying hot pans or knives, bringing utensils to her mouth for tasting and then putting them back into the cooking pot, not tying her hair while cooking, and even sticking her bare finger with a bandage into a pan of sauce — a scene that could be seen on every episode, in the opening credits. And there were others still who took issue with how unworkable her cake recipes were.
If nothing else, u/doyoulovethebeatle came to Sookie's defense, writing, "I've always considered those more 'research and development' recipes that we're watching her make, not what actually gets served ... That's what I tell myself at least."