I used to keep a list of movies that featured food or cooking as an essential part of the story. I am just getting started with cake and thought that this could be an ideal first conversation.
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I am tagging @itipmyhattoyou as he is the resident movie expert and someone who I suspect would enjoy this pursuit.
When I was attempting to be a professional screenplay writer, I completed a script about a teenager who takes over the cooking show of a famous local celebrity.
With that in mind, my submission for your consideration is an amusing little film with Meryl Streep as Julia Child.
One of my favorite movies ever is Chocolat!!
Thanks for the shoutout! Well, there are plenty of good movies out there that will make you hungry, but my top three hunger movies would start with the John Favreau movie, Chef.
It's a fantastic film that shows how much John the director/actor really loves making a really good meal. So much so that he made himself work under a professional chef to see the passion one can have in the kitchen.
There's also Ratatouille, which is just a delight to see Remy explore French Cuisine, but it doesn't really make me as hungry as the next one.
I've recently fallen in love with Ramen. It's taken over as my favorite food and I recently found an amazing documentary on Hulu called Ramenheads. If you have never had the pleasure of eating the noodles, drinking the broth, then allow me to open your eyes to the wonders of this amazing meal.
Honorable mentions for The Hundred Foot Journey and Jiro Dreams of Sushi.
Anyone else have good foodie movies?
I liked Julie and Julia. It was a really fun movie to watch.
I watched The Hundred-Foot Journey. Thought it was quite well made. Ratatouille as well, one of Pixar's classics.
I've been wanting to watch Chef for the longest time but haven't watched it yet. I have however, been watching The Chef Show on Netflix, which is quite cool too.
Yes, that's one that I loved also. Was going to add it, you beat me to it :) Thanks!
Martha (Martina Gedeck) relies on her culinary skills as her primary means of communication. She lives for her work and presides with obsessive care over her spotless, precise kitchen. When a fateful accident leaves Lina (Maxime Foerste), her 8-year-old niece, in her care, Martha's orderly life begins to come undone. When the owner is consequently forced to bring in help, Martha and the new charming and carefree Italian chef (Sergio Castellitto) are instantly at odds.
The original German version is much better than the America remake. 'No Reservations'
I am glad that Jiro Dreams of Sushi did not escape your attention. It is a small film, as befits the size of his establishment, but beautifully told. The craftsmanship involved in preparing the meals, and the decades before a chef is entrusted with certain dishes, speaks to my appreciation of those who seek “better than perfection.” (Tagging @wgoodey for more food or foodie films from Japan.)
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Perhaps this was not what @machaves had in mind, but in accordance with his request for movies involving food, may I recommend this campy 1970s gem: Attack of the Killer Tomatoes 🍅
A pretty good list of food movies from Ariel Knutsen (@arielknutson). I'll have to add some of these to my own queue.
Very funny with the killer tomatoes. Just watching the trailer tells you everything you need to know about that movie. Definitely a splat on Rotten Tomatoes!
Beautiful but pious sisters Martine (Birgitte Federspiel) and Philippa (Bodil Kjer) grow to spinsterhood under the wrathful eye of their strict pastor father on the forbidding and desolate coast of Jutland, until one day, Philippa's former suitor sends a Parisian refugee named Babette (Stéphane Audran) to serve as the family cook. Babette's lavish celebratory banquet tempts the family's dwindling congregation, who abjure such fleshly pleasures as fine foods and wines.
I can't say I've watched many movies that fit the theme. Certainly none that haven't been mentioned already. It's not a movie, but the only thing I can think to add is Samurai Gourmet. It's about a man that has just retired and feels like his life doesn't have much direction anymore. He's bored, so he goes for a walk. While he's out he gets hungry so he stops in a restaurant he's never been to. And he embarks on a food-driven journey to become more assertive. The acting verges on melodrama (his reactions to food are great) but it is pretty funny. And most of the time the eating experience is pretty much the entirety of the story.
Thank you, Whitney, I'll check it out.
This movie shares recipes for pies, including “Bad Baby Pie.”
She works in Joe's Pie Diner, where her job includes creating inventive pies with unusual titles inspired by her life, such as the "Bad Baby Pie" she invents after her unwanted pregnancy is confirmed.
I remember seeing this movie in the theaters and remembering it to be a quirky, clever and enjoyable indie film.
Great conversation idea—I wouldn’t have thought of this movie otherwise.
How could I forget this classic in conversation: to have a movie revolve soley around one dinner conversation between two friends is an extraordinary feat.
Yes, of course, a classic, though in my mind, with imperfect recollection since I saw it a LONG time ago, the focus of the movie was much more on the conversation than on the food.
From Kyle Turner (@TyleKurner), Paste Magazine:
There are times when I return to Ang Lee’s “Eat Drink, Man Woman” just for the opening sequence, featuring a calvacade of delicious food being prepared by the Chu patriarch. It’s a parade of images that indicate the skill it takes to be a great chef, and the intimacy required to make a (large) family dinner. Lee’s framing is unfussy, letting Sihung Lung’s talent speak for itself.
Besides being a great food movie and a sweet love story, The Lunchbox's underpinnings is the Dabbawala system, often called the world's best food delivery system. The system and the logistics behind this complex, on-time delivery, every time (without the use of high-tech) is the subject of a Harvard Business School case study.
From Edward Douglas (@EDouglasWW), The Weekend Warrior:
I’m betting I won’t be the only person who picks Ritesh Batra’s “The Lunchbox,” but I can’t think of any other movie that left me mouthwateringly hungry while watching it, particularly for Indian food (which I don’t eat very often). It’s a lovely film that seems to have found an audience long after it left theaters, as well as giving Bollywood superstar Irffan Khan a new career in Hollywood as more filmmakers discover his amazing talent.
Had forgotten about this one and after seeing the trailer, it makes me want to watch it again!
I wonder how the “ramen-flavored” popcorn was. [See last five seconds of trailer.]
