Esquivel privileges this native view of connection. Another significant aspect of Esquivel's work is the use of the cookbook structure. Women's lives, according to most gender theories of the past fifty years, have been perceived as existing on the margins of dominant patriarchal societies, particularly European-descent cultures. Esquivel shifts this perception in many ways by her use of the cookbook structure. Women's lives, their feelings and perceptions, are central in the family kitchen.
Many women inherit recipes from their grandmothers, mothers, aunts, and so forth.
By focusing on the predominantly feminine world of the family kitchen and the family ceremony, the perception of what and who is important changes. The world of men and politics and revolutions is placed to one side. Mama Elena rules the kitchen, though she was not allowed to rule her own life and passion originally. After the death of Tita's father, Mama Elena wields total power over the lives of everything and everyone on the ranch, and that power is frequently misused. The important power, this book emphasizes, arises from the ability to love and feel passion freely.