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Best Chefs in Movies

Jun 23rd 2016 - Guest Blog, 

Best Chefs in Movies

There are movies about food and then there are Chefs in movies that tell stories of how food and cooking defines and transforms lives. To cook and to create is the calling of a Chef. Here are five picks for the Best Chefs in Movies ever!   Ratatouille (2007)

Fernando Galeano / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

Remy the rat from Disney’s Ratatouille, has a keenly developed sense of taste and an appreciation of fine foods. He sets out for Paris to fulfill his dream to become a great culinary master like his hero, Chef Gusteau. “Anyone can cook”, his mentor proclaims, “but only the fearless can be great.” The Big Night (1996) In The Big Night, two Italian immigrant brothers pour their hearts and souls into saving their failing restaurant. They hatch a scheme to lure the famous musician Louis Prima to come for a special feast, pulling-out all the stops in preparation for the big event. The filming of food is some of the most gorgeous since 1992’s Like Water for Chocolate. In the end, Mr. Prima never shows, but the brothers give it all they’ve got and, as a result of their shared struggles, build a brotherly bond that can never be broken. Julie & Julia (2009)

gsz / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

What makes Julie & Julia one of best Chef movies is of course Meryl Streep playing the great Julia Child. Ms. Child’s passion for cooking inspires Julie, a young newlywed, to chronicle her painstaking journey through each recipe of Child’s iconic book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking” on a blog. Julie learns about her limitations in the kitchen and in life. Her blog catches fire and inspires thousands of other wannabe Chefs to try their hand at cooking too. Chocolat (2000)

Arty Smokes (deaf mute) / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

Vianne Rocher and her young daughter are drifters who, during the 1960s, move to a conservative and rural French town. There they open up a chocolate shop. Their arrival is at first met with skepticism but soon the hearts of the local people are won. Vianne's delicious chocolates and her loving spirit start working wonders. Only the mayor remains unimpressed and is determined to shut the shop down. Apart from its humorous and cozy atmosphere, the movie is filled with culinary eye candy which will delight anyone with a sweet tooth. The Chef (2012) 32-year old Jacky Bonnot is a self-trained Chef with extraordinary haute-cuisine abilities but absolutely no serious job prospects. He is forced to take up mediocre positions which he constantly ends up losing. Until he meets top-Chef Alexandre Lagarde (played by the incredible Jean Reno), who is faced with a different problem – he seems to have lost his culinary ingenuity. He is threatened to be taken off the air and substituted with molecular gastronomy. The two are a great team both because of their clashes and verbal sparrings which are quite amusing, as well as because of how well they manage to work together. The movie offers a glimpse into the lives of celebrity Chefs and how they turn cooking into an art form. Be the Best, Have the Best What all these movie Chefs have in common is a love of food, as one of the true pleasures in life, and the courage to follow their dreams. And as any good Chef, all they needed was good instruction, lots of practice, and the right culinary equipment to get the job done.