Finding the perfect movie to watch can be a pain sometimes. If you’re a real foodie, consider switching on one of our top ten favorite chef movies.
From heated kitchens to nostalgic romance and food trucks to Remy, the animated rat following his lifelong dream – these state-of-the-art movies are sure to bring you hours of amusement while inspiring your inner chef.
1. Boiling Point (2021)
If you know anything about the food service industry, you know that the kitchen – often referred to as the “back of house” – can get heated! In this sizzling, dramatic thriller, Andy Jones plays the head chef at one of the busiest London restaurants.
Boiling Point accurately depicts the relentless pressure of what it’s like to be a modern-day chef while juggling the responsibilities of restaurant management and work-life pressure. Burdened by personal problems along with long-simmering tension between his staff and management Chef Andy’s fiery personality seeps through, threatening to boil over into a full-on war during a hectic holiday service.
IMDb rating: 7.5
Rotten Tomatoes score:
- Critic: 99%
- Audience: 85%
2. The Menu (2022)
You do not have to be enmeshed in restaurant and food culture to enjoy watching The Menu. But if you are a food enthusiast, you will delight in every detail!
The movie is a comedy thriller that offers a mixture of comedic satire and horror as twelve guests – each representing a stereotype commonly found at fine dining restaurants – go to a private dining experience on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest to taste the menu from a prestigious chef.
Not long after the guests arrive, their dinner party goes south as the chef takes his cooking obsession to the next level – a deadly level. This theatrical chef movie will keep you on the edge of your seat.
IMDb rating: 7.2
Rotten Tomatoes score:
- Critic: 88%
- Audience: 76%
3. Chef (2014)
“Starting from scratch has never tasted this good.” Chef is a story about Carl Casper, an acclaimed chef who quits his admirable Los Angeles job after his frustration boils over into a boisterous viral video where he confronts a restaurant critic who faults the dish that his boss ordered him to create against his instincts.
Carl takes an unorthodox approach to losing his career by rediscovering his gastronomic passion in an old food truck. He embarks on a trip across America with his tech-savvy son, Percy, and old colleague, Martin.
IMDb rating: 7.3
Rotten Tomatoes score:
- Critic: 87%
- Audience: 85%
4. Dinner Rush (2000)
Take a script about chefs in a busy kitchen, and combine it with a late 90’s nostalgic gangster/crime theme, and you’ll get the wonderful film dubbed Dinner Rush.
In the heart of New York City, Louis Cropa’s bustling Italian eatery is more than just a place to enjoy a plate of pasta. As both the proprietor and a bookmaker, Louis finds his restaurant serving as a crossroads for an eclectic mix of patrons on one fateful evening.
Dinner Rush is a simmering pot of tension, ambition, and culinary passion, where every character adds a unique flavor to the mix. As the night unfolds, the restaurant transforms into a pressure cooker, leading to an explosive and deadly conclusion that will leave you questioning whether the kitchen is the most dangerous place in the city.
IMDb rating: 7.3
Rotten Tomatoes score:
- Critic: 91%
- Audience: 85%
5. Julie & Julia (2009)
Starring the iconic Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci, this alluring ode to the romance of cooking remains one of the best movies for foodies.
Julie Powell is a popular food blogger on a mission to recreate every recipe in Julia Child’s cookbook – consisting of 524 recipes – in 365 days. These women are separated by time but entwined with their passion for cooking. The movie follows their lives and creates a fascinating comedy-drama surrounding their enthusiasm for cooking.
IMDb rating: 7
Rotten Tomatoes score:
- Critic: 78%
- Audience: 70%
6. Burnt (2015)
If you’re into a good drama, this chef movie fits the bill.
Chef Adam is played by the smoldering, bestubbled Bradley Cooper. He is brilliant, stormy, passionate, self-sabotaging, and downright impossible. After blowing his career on drugs and booze, Adam tries to clean up his act and finds himself wandering around London in an attempt to become a top chef again.
Adam struggles to find a job to build his career again but eventually comes right to the Langham Hotel. His next mission – to redeem himself and achieve a third Michelin star.
IMDb rating: 6.6
Rotten Tomatoes score:
- Critic: 28%
- Audience: 45%
7. The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)
The Hundred-Foot Journey is all about passion – a passion for food, culture, and life.
This comedy-drama is about an intense professional rivalry between two restaurants in southern France. The stiff, cold-hearted chef proprietress (starred by Helen Mirren) of a Michelin-starred French restaurant faces strong competition from a culinary immigrant opening an Indian restaurant just one hundred feet across the street from her own.
The chef proprietress’ protests and the combative relationship between the two establishments escalate to a drama-filled battle. Still, the movie celebrates triumph over exile as their two very different worlds collide.
IMDb rating: 7.3
Rotten Tomatoes score:
- Critic: 68%
- Audience: 81%
8. Ratatouille (2007)
No best chef movie list is complete without mentioning the fondly admired animation Ratatouille. The movie captures the world of food in a full spectrum of color, character, and decadence.
The absurd yet inspiring movie tells the tale of the culinary adventures of Remy, a unique rat with a profound talent for cooking. Remy is drawn to Gusteau’s 3-star restaurant, where he helps Linguini, a clumsy kitchen worker, to cook delicious specials.
IMDb rating: 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes score:
- Critic: 96%
- Audience: 87%
9. Today’s Special (2009)
If you’re looking for a feel-good chef movie, Today’s Special is charming, funny, and worth watching.
This comedy kicks off with the life of Asif Mandivi, a sous-chef in Manhattan that hopes to leave his hometown and embark on a journey to Paris. This all changes after he finds out that he must take over his family-run Indian restaurant in Queens after his estranged father suffers a heart attack.
IMDb rating: 6.6
Rotten Tomatoes score:
- Critic: 81%
- Audience: 72%
10. The Way To The Heart (2022)
Do you feel like a nostalgic romance movie that will leave you feeling light-hearted? Enjoy watching The Way to The Heart. It is a heartfelt film about a renowned chef at a big-city restaurant who loses her spark for cooking. Her boss sends her back to her hometown, hoping she can save her job and rediscover her passion for food.
Ava returns home to find little inspiration until she reunites with Logan, her childhood friend. This plot twist unravels into Ava finding love in more ways than one. She finds her passion for food and the way to her heart.
IMDb rating: 6.5
Rotten Tomatoes score:
- Critic: N/A
- Audience: N/A
11. No Reservations (2007)
This comedy-drama surrounds the life of Kate, an intimidating and perfectionistic chef who needs to learn how to balance her work life and the array of unexpected challenges of raising her late sister’s daughter.
Kate’s role becomes threatened when the new, high-spirited, charismatic sous chef, Nick, has a different approach in the kitchen and threatens to take control of her kitchen with his free-wheeling ways.
IMDb rating: 6.3
Rotten Tomatoes score:
- Critic: 42%
- Audience: 62%
12. Love On The Menu (2019)
Love on the Menu is a true Hallmark showstopper that intertwines passion food with chemistry which grows into romance.
Hank, a single dad and popular chef, runs a classic Italian eatery in Seattle. He initially rejects the idea of starting a gourmet frozen food line. However, after the restaurant he started with his wife starts facing a financial crisis, he reluctantly accepts the deal in an effort to save the establishment.
Hank signs the contract with Maggie, the frozen food executive. They are profoundly attracted to one another, leaving Maggie conflicted between her current job and her newfound love.
IMDb rating: 6.8
Rotten Tomatoes score:
- Critic: N/A
- Audience: 50%
13. Sweet Navidad (2021)
Whether it’s Christmas time or you simply love the warmth of a Christmas movie, Sweet Navidad combines the charming holiday season with culinary mastery.
A quirky pastry chef, Carmen works in a simplistic, local bakery but dreams of eventually owning her own dessert and pastry shop. She gets invited to apply for a coveted position as a pastry chef at a grand hotel for their holiday event.
Carmen gets paired with an executive chef, Jax, and they must create a menu in time for Christmas.
IMDb rating: 5.7
Rotten Tomatoes score:
- Critic: N/A
- Audience: N/A
Conclusion
Whether you want comedy, drama, or horror as the theme for a chef movie, this list of the best has them all.
You’re bound to love at least one of them, and you’ll undoubtedly learn more about the energy and passion of those working in the food industry, even if it’s from a cinematic perspective.
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