Cinematic Chefs

With the popularity of cookery and food culture in general at an all time high it was really only a matter of time before Hollywood started paying attention. Recently released and gaining very favourable reviews is Chef, directed by and starring Jon Favreau (director of the Iron Man trilogy). Taking a break from awesome superheroic action movies, Chef is a much more personal, feelgood road trip about a chef rebuilding his life and career by setting up a food truck after losing his job in a prestigious Los Angeles restaurant.

Not only does it have the kind of cast that guarantees a baseline of watchability – Dustin Hoffman, Scarlett Johannson and Robert Downey Jr. all make appearances – it also, appropriately enough, makes the food the star. If you’re looking for a cinematic summer outing that doesn’t involve big robots going at each other then you can’t go far wrong with Chef. The Publicity Works very own cinema expert Callum has seen it and given it the thumbs up, which is the highest accolade it is possible to give any film.

If that’s not enough, another foodie movie is currently in pre-production. Most likely considering what to change the name to right now, the other Chef is set to star Bradley Cooper and is said to be an edgier comedy about a rockstar chef looking to get his third Michelin star while keeping his dark past at bay. According to the internet it’s been in development hell since at least 2007, with various directors and actors having been attached to it down the years. There are early scripts floating about the net and it’ll be interesting to see how much it’s changed during its long gestation period.