Chef!

I don’t often write anything resembling a move review, but I just saw CHEF and I enjoyed it so much I changed my plans for today’s post. Here is my disclaimer, this is not a movie review per se, this is a post about how much and why I enjoyed this flawed but highly entertaining film. Anyone who enjoys food, who likes watching someone really good preparing it, and who thinks about food more than three times a day should go see Chef!

Sometimes,especially when the weather gets really hot, as it has this week, the thought of cooking anything makes me ill. I was dreading cooking for this post, and now I wish I were. Have no fears, there will be a Cuban sandwich here soon! You will want it, and when you leave the movie you will really want it. I read a review of this movie in which the reviewer questioned how attractive Chef Carl Caspar (John Favreau) could be to capture the attention of the likes of Sofia Vergara and Scarlett Johansson, and to that I say, he sure can cook; he and his food are very sexy!

courtesy of Austin Chronicle.com

There is food being cooked in almost every scene and for me, in the midst of my heat induced funk, my senses woke up and I left the theater wanting to get back to my kitchen. I didn’t though, because when we got outside and were hit with the wall of heat that waits outside of every super-cooled movie theater we decided to go get some cold sesame noodles instead. This is temporary, and inspired by Chef, I will be cooking soon.

Food movies are extra fun for food lovers, and I imagine most of the people reading this would fall somewhere along that continuum. Here are some of my favorites, Big Night, Babette’s Feast, Eat Drink  Mam Woman and the Spanish version, Tortilla Soup, Mostly Martha (love the music!!) Spanglish,  Tampopo, and, (don’t judge until you’ve seen it) Ramen Girl. I am very optimistic about the upcoming Journey of 100 Steps. Through each of these I can smell and taste the food, watch as someone driven by passion builds and creates magical and wondrous creations.  Even in the seemingly frothy Brittany Murphy vehicle Ramen Girl, the main character Abby takes on the world of ramen soup, and dedicates herself to mastering each step to make a perfect bowl of ramen.

If you only go to the movies to see great cinema, Chef may not be for you, there are virtually no surprises, twists or turns. It is a lighthearted, simple story filled with a whole lot of great looking food, and impressive cutting, chopping and cooking. If you are a culinary voyeur you will have fun, and Chef will make you want to cook something great, and for me that was quite enough.