Apparently, ’tis the season to be merry and eat delicious food, so what better time to visit, or most likely re-visit, movies about food, food being cooked, eaten or else!
Many “food movies” are usually well-known and liked, often being a fun project about chefs’ passion, or someone’s love of cooking and how they share this love (and many meals!) with people around them. Other films about the subject are just “normal” ones – as in food or cooking is not central to the plot – but they are perhaps known for their iconic meal or dinner scenes.
However, one would be surprised that despite their attractiveness we do not have that many foodie movies flooding our screens every year. It is indeed very strange as this ”genre of sorts” is quite unanimously enjoyed – no matter how good or bad their stories are! – as long as there is a visual feast and a spectacle to be savor from the comfort of couches or on big screens for maximum craving.
So here is a list of 30 films from the last 30 years that may or may not make you hungry!
The Obvious Ones
Julie & Julia
The 2009 Nora Ephron movie based on Julia Child and Julie Powell lives is surely the most recognized film about food. It stars Meryl Streep as the famed cook, and Amy Adams as Powell, a New-York blogger looking for new aspiration and whose life will be changed after attempting to replicate all of Child’s first book recipes. The film was a hit with a great story to tell and obviously the two powerhouse actresses. It gave Streep many many awards and accolades, but it succeeded in being the ultimate foodie film by having the cooking front and center.
Fun fact: the film was the first major feature project based on a blog.
Chef
Jon Favreau‘s celebrity-filled dramedy was quite a nice surprise when it came out in 2014. Far from the blockbusters and superhero movies is name is now associated with, Chef is an impressive independent film about a successful chef who grows tired of the conventional aspects of his life and the fancy restaurant he works at. He wants to have more creative freedom, thus leave everything behind and embarks on a culinary journey starting back to his Miami roots. The film act as love-letter to food-truck/street- food, as well as, Cuban and Latino cuisine heritage.
Burnt
Burnt is a 2015 drama starring Bradley Cooper as an intense chef with drugs and anger issues. His life is a mess and the pressure of his job is not helping the situation, but a new professional opportunity in London might help him get back on his feet. The film, directed by John Wells and written by Steven Knight, is one of those “chef movies” that is ultimately not so much about the food but about the chef and their life. That being said it might give another good insight into the kitchen world and the toll it takes on its workers.
The Hundred-Foot Journey
The Hundred-Foot Journey by Lasse Hallström is a movie about chefs and their restaurants also written by Steven Knight, and notably produced by Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey. The 2014 film adapted from Richard Morais novel stars Helen Mirren and Om Puri as owners of two concurrent restaurants in a small town in the south of France just a hundred feet from each other. The film is not only about food but wants to be a story about acceptance focusing on an immigrant family fighting prejudice.
Mr. Church
This 2016 film starring Eddie Murphy as a Henry Church, is a very touching one. Church is a chef working for a family with a cancer-ridden mother. He will become a special member of the family for the daughter thanks to cooking and music. Once again, this one might not be so much about the food or the cooking, but about how it helps people to connect, bond, create memories and even heal.
Leave a comment about your favorite foodie film.