13 movies about chefs and food, after watching which you will want to cook

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Biographies of great culinary experts, touching dramas and perky comedies about everyday life of restaurants.

13. Cook for the President

• France, 2012.
• Comedy, biography.
• Duration: 95 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 4.

Hortens Laborie has already become famous in France thanks to her talent and invention in the preparation of various dishes. Having received an invitation from the President of the country to become his personal chef, she quickly conquers the employer with her art. But peer envy and behind-the-scenes intrigue can ruin Labori's career.

The painting is based on the true story of Daniel Maze-Delpes, the first woman to be appointed chef by the President of France. She worked for François Mitterrand at the Elysee Palace from 1988 to 1990. And after a while, at the age of 60, Maze-Delpesh went to Antarctica to cook food for the members of the scientific expedition.

12.1001 recipe for a culinary in love

• France, Georgia, Germany, Belgium, 1996.
• Melodrama, comedy.
• Duration: 100 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 5.

Chef and traveler Pascal Ishak leaves for Georgia, where he plans to stay for several days. But the hero has to find his love, become famous and even change his way of thinking.

The favorite comedian of Soviet and Russian viewers, Pierre Richard, appears in this picture rather in a romantic role. But the main thing is that the film perfectly mixes Georgian and French cuisine, which at first seem completely incompatible.

11. Chief Adam Jones

• USA, 2015.
• Drama, comedy.
• Duration: 101 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 6.

Three years ago, chef Adam Jones lost his restaurant in Paris to drug addiction. Now he works in a regular cafe. But the hero dreams of returning to the world of haute cuisine, and therefore rebuilds a restaurant in London and recruits a new team.

Interestingly, ten years earlier, Bradley Cooper had already played a former addict-turned-chef on the sitcom Kitchen Secrets. And, according to the actor, before the start of his film career, he dreamed of cooking professionally.

10. Mr. Septim's Restaurant

• France, 1966.
• Comedy, crime.
• Duration: 85 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

Renowned restaurateur Monsieur Septim constantly tyrannizes his subordinates for perfect customer service. Once, during a dinner in his establishment, the president of one of the countries of Latin America disappears. To save his reputation, Septim is personally involved in the investigation.

The work of the restaurant in this film is shown very little. But even one scene where the main character, played by the great Louis de Funes, trains the waiters, already allows you to add a comedy to the list.

9. Kitchen in Paris

• Russia, 2014.
• Comedy.
• Duration: 106 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

The famous Moscow restaurant Claude Monet is failing preparations for the meeting of the presidents of Russia and France. The chef of the establishment, Viktor Barinov, and his subordinates go to Paris to find a new job.

This feature-length film is a direct continuation of the third season of the STS TV series "Kitchen". Interestingly, a significant part of the film was actually filmed in France.

8. Julie and Julia: Cooking the recipe for happiness

• USA, 2009.
• Drama, melodrama, biography.
• Duration: 118 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

Julie Powell is a call center operator and has her own blog. Tired of the gray days, she decides to cook 524 dishes in a year according to the recipes of the famous Julia Child. At the same time, they tell about the beginning of Child's culinary career in the 1940s.

This film was based on Julie Powell's real-life blog, in which she shared her successes in cooking various dishes. But most of all the authors wanted to emphasize the similarity of the fate of the two heroines who lived at different times.

7. Like water for chocolate

• Mexico, 1992.
• Drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 113 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 1.

Tita dreams of marrying her beloved Pedro. But according to the tradition of the Mexican family, as the youngest daughter, she must live with her mother and take care of her to death. Then Pedro marries Tita's older sister in order to be closer to his beloved. A girl can express her feelings only by preparing unusual dishes.

This Mexican painting is more about relationships than cooking. Still, the idea of expressing love through cooking looks very original.

6. Irresistible Martha

• Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, 2001.
• Drama, comedy, melodrama.
• Duration: 109 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

Martha Klein is a chef at a successful restaurant and loves her job. However, after the death of her sister, she has to take care of her eight-year-old niece. Meanwhile, a new wayward chef arrives at the establishment.

The famous painting by Sandra Nettelbeck also has an American remake of "The Taste of Life" with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart. But the original is still revered more.

5. Chocolate

• USA, UK, 2000.
• Drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 121 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

A single mother, Vienne, arrives in a quiet French town with her daughter. She rents an empty store and starts selling chocolate products. Many residents instantly fall in love with the amazing taste of sweets. But not everyone is happy with a new resident violating the established order.

The adaptation of the novel of the same name by Joanne Harris pleases with a set of amazing actors. The main roles in the film were played by Juliette Binoche, Johnny Depp and Judi Dench. And chocolate in this story is only a reflection of the ability to enjoy life.

4. Chef on Wheels

• USA, 2014.
• Drama, comedy.
• Duration: 114 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

Experienced chef Karl Kasper loses his job at a famous restaurant after a series of scandals. Then he decides to open his own diner on wheels in order to once again plunge into the world of cooking, and at the same time spend more time with his son.

Jon Favreau, who had already shot two parts of the famous "Iron Man" by that time, conceived this independent film just "for the soul." He wrote the script in just a couple of weeks, and then, together with the famous chef Roy Choi, very carefully worked out the cooking scenes. The couple later aired the cookery show The Chef Show on Netflix.

3. Big night

• USA, 1996.
• Drama, melodrama, comedy.
• Duration: 109 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

Two Italian brothers open a restaurant in the United States with delicious food. But clients never go to them. Having almost burned out, they, on the advice of their colleagues, arrange a large-scale event and treat visitors to their best dishes for free.

There are many interesting storylines to be found in this comedy drama. These are the feelings of emigrants cut off from their homeland, and the meanness of competitors, and even the problems of doing business.

2. Spices and Passions

• USA, 2014.
• Drama, comedy, melodrama.
• Duration: 122 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

After an angry mob destroyed Papa Kadama's restaurant in Mumbai, he and his family moved to French Provence and opened a new establishment. But just across the street from it is the "Weeping Willow", which received a star of the Michelin guide. A cold war breaks out between the owners of the two restaurants.

This picture was shot by Lasse Hallström, who also directed Chocolate. And the atmosphere of the films is somewhat similar: they are touching family dramas seasoned with stories about cooking.

1. Ratatouille

• USA, 2007.
• Comedy, adventure.
• Duration: 111 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

Baby the rat Remy watches cooking shows all the time and loves to cook. True, relatives are skeptical of his hobby. One day Remi meets the young man Linguini. He works in a restaurant, but does not know how to cook at all. New friends decide to help each other.

Surprisingly, in the list of pictures about food and chefs, a cartoon with a rat in the lead role deservedly comes first. Pixar animators approached the work on Ratatouille as responsibly as possible. They consulted with French Laundromat chef Thomas Keller to learn how to cook, and even traveled to Paris to faithfully convey the atmosphere of the restaurant and the streets.