Dolly Parton Is Cooking Up Something New

For celebrities, “returning to their roots” is almost a cliche at this point—a perfunctory profile quote or social media caption. But after a conversation with Dolly Parton, I can confidently assert the multi-hyphenate megastar will never make that statement. Parton has never strayed–in fact, her roots have uniquely nourished each of her ever-growing creative branches. 

And as it turns out, Parton’s latest endeavor provides nourishment in the literal sense. Parton (who has authored over a dozen books while maintaining her status as one of the most celebrated singer-songwriters of all time) teamed up with her sister, Rachel Parton George, for Good Lookin’ Cookin’. The cookbook, which dropped September 17, features more than 80 dishes. The focus is on the All-American classics regularly found around the Parton family table during holidays and special occasions. “We both love to cook, and we love to spend time together,” says Rachel. “So we thought, what a perfect time in life to do a cookbook.” 

Even over the phone, their enjoyment of one another’s company is palpable and infectious. While different in many ways (at one point, in discussing their beauty ethoses, Dolly notes “Rachel is more ‘less is more,’ and I’m more ‘more is more!”), those differences are complementary. Dolly is the effervescent, extroverted big sister; Rachel is more subdued but no less enthusiastic. Put them together, and you’ve got a recipe for a lively and engaging conversation that’ll practically transport you to the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. 

Read on to learn more about Good Lookin’ Cookin’, the scents that take them home, and why the Parton Sisters will never gatekeep a beauty secret. 

On How the Cookbook Came to Be

Dolly: “Like Rachel said, we both love to cook. And she’s a serious cook—collects cookbooks and watches all the cooking shows and all that. We thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to get together and throw in all the stuff about ourselves, our family, and all the fun stuff we like to do? Yeah, this is a great idea!’ And it turned out to be wonderful.” 

On Creativity in the Kitchen

Rachel: “We’re creative people and writers, and cooking is a creative part of us as well. You just never know what will end up being one of your favorite recipes.” 

Dolly: “Or one of your favorite songs! We write a lot. So when we are in the kitchen, we have a notepad somewhere close. I’ve noticed some of my best songs come out of the kitchen, and some of my best food. When you get in that creative zone, I find that creativity just kind of flows.” 

On Finding Beauty Inspiration Close to Home

Dolly: “Rachel and I were just talking about mashing up honeysuckle for perfume and rubbing it on our skin. We’re country girls; we always [used] berries and everything in the wild to make little stains for lips and all. But I think we have different influences. One of my influences was what they called the ‘town trollop’– I thought she was beautiful, she wore all this makeup and big blonde hair and red toenails and fingernails. Who were some of yours, Rachel? I’m curious to know.” 

Rachel: “Well, you!”

Dolly: [Laughs] “I’m 14 years older than Rachel, so she grew up with my makeup, and I was always overdoing it. We also had some of our aunts, my dad’s sisters, who really liked to wear makeup, and we thought they were really pretty. Some of them might have been the ‘town trollop!’” 

On Never Gatekeeping With the Fam

Rachel: “When I find something I love, I usually go back and get a few more, and I make sure Dolly has it. I’ll say, ‘You’ve got to try this,’ or ‘You’ve got to try that,’ or ‘Have you seen this?,’ or ‘Have you seen that?’ Usually, when we’re out and about and trying and buying, we’ll get extra for our sisters.” 

Dolly: “Especially if it’s good! And we also pass little tips along. I think of my sister Cassie every time I put on my eyelashes. A few years back, she said ‘Do you ever hold your eyelash curlers over a candle to kind of get the curler warm? Because it makes the eyelashes so much curlier.’ I do that to this day because it makes all the difference. There’s five of us girls in the family, and like Rachel says, if someone gets some good makeup or has a hint, we just pass it along.” 

On How Their Beauty Routines Are Alike—and Different 

Dolly: “We’re pretty much the same: We gotta make sure our eyes are all made up, we gotta have that lip. Rachel is a more natural beauty than I am. I have to pretty much paint mine. She doesn’t think she looks good without it, but she’s one of those people that really is pretty with or without makeup. I’m just a blank canvas. So I gotta start with my lips, and my cheeks—let’s just say I have to have it all. And I want it all!” 

“I like to wear a lot of makeup, but I’m not trying to hide. I just enjoy doing it. I like to primp; I’m like a kid with crayons, you know? I just like to get in there and do it. You should try to become a better person spiritually, and I think I’m better than I’ve ever been. And every day I try to physically and spiritually become better.” 

On the Power of Scent

Dolly: “Do you want to answer this one, Rachel? I’ve been talking the whole time!” 

Rachel: “One of my favorites, and probably earliest [scents], is musk oil. I add that to any new fragrance I buy. For me, it’s almost a signature fragrance.” 

Dolly: “I love that too. You talked about triggering memories—I think music and fragrance do that more than anything. Every now and then, I’ll be going through some old boxes or drawers or something, and I’ll come across an old bottle of perfume, and it just brings that moment back to me. It just washes over you like water somehow. So it does trigger your memories—some of them are not always so good and some are, but still, it will trigger your memories, no doubt about it.

“If I’m walking around outside, even on my own farm, and I get a little whiff of honeysuckle, it takes me right back to Locust Ridge—where we grew up, where we learned to love nature, making all the stuff we made then, before we had access to everything we do now. It’s amazing, things like that will take you back.” 

Rachel: “And honeysuckle is a scent they have yet to master [in fragrance]. It’s just a wonderful, beautiful fragrance. And I, too, am just moved when we’re walking and I smell honeysuckle. You close your eyes and it just takes you back to wonderful times. It’s a sweet medicine.”

Dolly On Her Relationship With Miley Cyrus 

Dolly: “I’ve known her since before she was born—I worked with Billy Ray, her dad, and I just kind of claimed her as one of my nieces. She’s like a little goddaughter, and I just love her. If she comes to me to ask my opinion on things, I always say ‘I don’t give advice, but I’ve got opinions, and I’ve got some information for you.’ I’ve got things I can tell her. We have a close relationship.” 

On Staying Grounded

Dolly: “I’m secure in who I am. I don’t try to be anything different than what I am—I’m safe and secure in myself. If somebody asks me an uncomfortable question, I’m comfortable answering in an open, honest way. I think people can always accept that. They can accept honesty more than they can try to make up a bunch of BS to try to back it up. I just do whatever feels natural and easy for me.” 

On What They’d Tell Their 30-Year-Old Selves

Dolly: “I’d just say, ‘You’re going to be so disappointed!’ [singing] Hold on to what you’ve got! C’mon, Rachel! 

“To be serious about that question, it’s not easy. I’m 78 years old now, and I think ‘Oh, how did I get to be this age!’ But you’ve got to do it with grace the best you can. You really need to prepare. You need to take as good care of yourself as you can. Willie Nelson once said, ‘Hell, if I’d have known I was gonna live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself!’ And that’s how I feel. So I think when you’re still young, you need to listen to those things they try to tell you but you don’t listen to. Take better care of yourself, have a good attitude, and just be your best self.” 

Rachel: “Hopefully [if we’re fortunate], we will age—that just means time is moving on and we’re getting older. Every birthday, instead of saying ‘Oh no, I have another wrinkle,’ I say, ‘Thank you, Jesus, I made it another year. Look at you, girl!’”

On New Beauty Loves

Dolly: “We’re always out there looking for new things. I’ve got a bright blue eyeshadow that I’ve been wearing a lot–”

Rachel: “And it looks great on you!!”

Dolly: “Everybody’s been braggin’ on me lately! And I don’t know the brand. Somebody gave me this eyeshadow palette and I started wearing it. Every day I put it on, someone goes ‘Golly, your makeup looks so good!’ That kinda goes back to what we were saying before—find things that suit you, that you like. And if somebody brags on you, put more on!” 

On Future Collaborations 

Dolly: “Well we never know, and we’ll never say never. We love each other and we’ll be together, always. We may make music together, we may write another cookbook. We put a lot of time and effort into this one, so we don’t need to make another exactly like this one. But who knows? We’ve got a lot of things to do and a lot of options, the two of us.”

Rachel: “We’re always doing something and dreaming of something to do.”

Dolly: “We’re dreamers and doers!”