What are you plans for the bank holiday weekend? Well if chilling on the sofa and watching movies is one of them then you might want to have a look at the following list. I'm a sucker for food movies and I thought I'd share with you a list of some of my favourites, in no particular order.
1. Julie and Julia (2009)
Adapted from Julia Child's autobiographic book 'My Life in France' and from Julie Powell's story. Julie Powell decides to cook all the recipes from Julia Child's 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking' in a year and to document her challenge in her food blog. The movie contrasts Julia Child's life in France in the 50s with Julie's life in New York in the 2000s.
2. Ratatouille (2007)
My favourite Disney movie ever, Ratatouille tells the story of Remy a little rat who dreams of becoming a chef and ends up in the kitchen of a Parisian restaurant. A great little movie if you don't mind watching a rodent being in the kitchen. If you ever go to Disneyland Paris you have to go try the Ratatouille attraction which I reviewed here on the blog.
3. Chocolat (2000)
Vianne and her daughter arrive in an old-fashioned French town where she opens a sinful chocolate shop, causing a real stir. There are some mouth-watering chocolate making scenes in this movies and even Johnny Depp with an 'Irish' accent!
4. Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)
Jiro Dreams of Sushi is an incredible documentary about sushi master Jiro Ono who owns a tiny three Michelin-starred restaurant in a Tokyo subway station. You get a great insights into Jiro's work and life.
5. Chef (2004)
Jon Favreau is director and main character of this movie, in which he loses his job as head chef in a restaurant after a Twitter row with a food critic and decides to open his own food truck. The food scenes are scrumptious and you'll want to eat a Cuban sandwich after watching it!
6. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
This adaption of Roald Dalh's book is a classic, Charlie the winner of the Golden ticket finds himself visiting Willy Wonka's factory along with some interesting company. Definitely one for the sweet toothed!
7. The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)
An Indian family move to a small village in the South of France and decide to open an Indian eatery just across from a Michelin-starred restaurant. It's a very cute food movie from Lasse Hallström, the same director as Chocolat.
8. Toast (2010)
It's a movie that people never really mention but definitely one of my favourites. Toast is an adaptation of the food memoirs of chef and food writer Nigel Slater. His mum, who couldn't cook passed away when he was a child. However, his interest for food grew and he had to compete with his step-mother in the kitchen as a teenager. The movie is about Nigel's coming of age and how he ended up training in food.
9. Burnt (2015)
Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper) is a two-Michelin starred chef who worked in Paris, abusing drink and drugs until hitting rock bottom. He manages to persuade his former Maître d' to hire him as a head chef in his London restaurant with the goal of attaining a third star. The food scenes are amazing and listening to Bradley Cooper speaking French is rather lovely!
10. Babette's Feast (1987)
Babette's Feast is a true food movie classic. Babette is a mysterious French refugee who ends up in a village in late 19th century Denmark where she's hired as cook by two sisters. Without spooling the movie, all I can say is there is a huge French feast in this movie which is well worth a watch.
Honourable mentions:
Big Night (1996)
The Lunch Box (2013)
Step Up to The Plate (2012)
Delicatessen (1991) (well, it's a weird take on food)
Sideways (2004) (about wine)
Don't see you favourite food movie in this list? Let me know what your favourite movie is and why in the comments.
