Frances Bean Cobain Is A Food Influencer Now

As the artist/model daughter of grunge legends Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, Frances Bean Cobain probably isn’t the first name that comes to mind when you think of domestic goddesses. And while her vibe remains decidedly edgier than, say, Martha Stewart or Giada de Laurentiis, that hasn’t stopped her from starting an Instagram account dedicated to her culinary pursuits. That’s right, Cobain is a budding food influencer, garnering over 71k followers since creating the account in December of last year.

While die-hard Nirvana fans and ‘90s-kid wannabes (both categories that we, admittedly, fall into) are likely to stan anything Cobain does, there’s something magical at work on her account @spacewitchin_in_thekitchen, which follows the naming convention of her personal account, @space_witch666. During a content-saturated moment when many food influencers are focused on crafting complex meals using pricey ingredients presented with airbrushed perfection, Cobain’s comparatively simple offerings are a breath of fresh air. For one thing, they’re dishes you’ve probably made before and could likely throw together without a paycheque-consuming trip to Whole Foods — think eggs benedict, butternut squash hash, and mulled apple cider. Her Stories give step-by-step instructions on the most basic of steps (helpful for those of us who fearcooking anything more complex than boxed mac n’ cheese), and her no-frills photos skip the the professional lighting rig and aggressive styling too often seen on the ‘gram. Basically, Cobain’s attitude towards food proves she’s just like us — except that for the whole rock royalty thing.

While there’s nothing wrong with the undeniably eye-popping confections more conventional influencers post, we appreciate Cobain’s down-to-earth attitude towards both food and fame. Not only does it serve to make the less culinarily inclined feel more confident cooking, it shifts the narrative of what a food influencer looks like. As much as we love Martha and her many successors — think women like Hannah Bronfman and Ella Woodward — not all of us are made in the same wholesome image. Food also has an inextricable link to traditional notions of female domesticity, and while there’s no shame in aspiring to that or finding a way to reclaim it, it’s exciting to see someone who so openly bucks those conventions enter the space.

In addition to the edgy style aesthetic that is essentially her birthright, Cobain is also a successful visual artist whose work combines the romantic and the psychedelic, dealing with themes like womanhood, death, and alienation. During a stint in 2017 as the face of Marc Jacobs grunge-inspired spring campaign, she and her friends “vandalised” a billboard of her own face that hung above the designer’s Melrose Avenue store. And, like her mother, she’s always been outspoken about everything: from satanism (she doesn’t subscribe but finds it “fucking fascinating”) to her battles with anxiety following a near-death experience to her desire to be understood and respected beyond her famous parents' legacy. This is all to say that she’s a complicated, rebellious personality with a voice that’s undeniably different from others in the food world.

Cobain’s flakiness when it comes to updating the account is also weirdly charming. While many celebrities and influencers take a regimented approach to social posting, she seems to post new content pretty much whenever she feels like it. To be fair, she’s been famous and fabulously wealthy since birth (and is also the sole heir to her father’s estate) and doesn't need to make a living as an influencer. But it’s also — once again — quite refreshing in a landscape where there’s pressure to both produce and consume gorgeous, professional-looking photos multiple times a day. Her food 'gram mimics the way that most of us approach food: we cook sometimes, when we feel like it, and we don’t stress (too much) if we accidentally go three weeks eating a largely Seamless-based diet

While Cobain was unreachable for comment, the account could hint at culinary aspirations beyond Instagram. A Food Network TV show, perhaps? A Space Witchin’ in the Kitchen cookbook? A line of kitchen and home accessories with a rocker edge? The possibilities feel endless.