Top 20 Greatest Chef Movies You Should Watch. Below is a list of the top, new, and most important chef movies ordered by importance. The recommendations service has categorized the films and TV shows about/with Chefs, Cooking, Food, Restaurants, Cooking and Food, Kitchen, Cookery, Gourmet, Gastronomy, and Wine plots mainly in Comedy, Drama & Romance genres shot in the United States, France, Japan & other countries.
Chef Movies
1. Ratatouille (2007)
Director: Brad Bird
Pixar Animation Studios’ eighth film produced for Walt Disney Pictures, Ratatouille, is a comedy-dramatic American animated film directed by Brad Bird, written by Jan. Pinkeye, and co-directed by Bird and Brad Lewis, based on an original idea by Pinkeye. Bird and Lewis co-wrote the story with Pinkeye.
The film stars Patton Oswalt as Remy, Lou Romano as Henri, Ian Hold as Ian, Janine Arévalo as Janine, Peter O’Toole as Brian Kennedy as Peter Son, and Brad Garrett as Brad Garrett. After Pinkeye left Pixar due to a lack of confidence in the story’s development, Bird was offered the director’s chair. Bird and several of the film’s cast and crew members visited Paris to find inspiration for the film.
The film’s food animation was created by consulting chefs from France and the US. The title “ratatouille” is derived from the French dish that is served at the movie’s end. The main character’s species is a rat. The story follows Remy, a young rat, attempting to become a chef in August. – Chef Movies
2. Burnt (2015)
Director: John Wells
Burnt is an American drama film written and directed by John Wells, and co-written by Steven Knight, based on the novel by Michael Kalesnik. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Omar Sy, Daniel Brühl, Matthew Rhys, Riccardo Skamarcio, Alice Virender, Uma Thurman, Emma Thompson, and others.
Adam Jones was the head chef at a prestigious Parisian restaurant run by Jean-Luc. His drug use and volatile temper caused him to lose his job and the restaurant. After a period of self-discovery in New Orleans, where he shucked a million oysters to sober up, he decided to travel to London to resume his career and try to earn his third Michelin star in London.
Upon arriving in London, Adam seeks out old colleagues, starting with his mentor Tony Baled, who is now a hotel manager at The Langham Hotel, owned by baled’s family. He checks into one of the hotel’s rooms and visits an old friend, Contd. Cont is impressed with Helene’s talent as a sou. – Chef Movies
3. No Reservations (2007)
Director: Scott Hicks
No Reservations is an American romantic comedy-dramatic film, directed by Scott Hicks, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, and Abigail Berlin. It is based on the novel by Carol Fuchs, who adapted it into a German film, Mostly Martha, based on the story of a hard-working chef whose life is changed when she decides to adopt her young niece after her sister dies in a car accident. Other co-stars include Patricio Clarkson, Bob Balkan, Jenny Wade, and Brian F.
Kate Armstrong is a head chef at a fashionable Becker Street restaurant in the West Village of Manhattan. She runs the kitchen at a fast pace as she schedules the preparation of all the delicious meals and personally inspects each one to make sure it is cooked to perfection. Kate has a reputation for intimidating everyone around her, even her boss Paula, who orders her to go to therapy. When a customer compliments her on one of the special dishes she prepares, she immediately storms out of the kitchen. – Chef Movies
4. Chef (2014)
Director: Jon Favreau
Chef is an American romantic comedy-drama about a chef who loses his job after a public spat with a food critic and decides to open a food truck in Los Angeles with his young son. The film also stars Sofía Vergara, Scarlett Johansson, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale, and Dustin Hoffman.
The film was directed, written, and co-produced by Favre, and co-executed by chef Roy Choi who served as co-producer on the film’s food truck and oversees the menus and food preparation. Principal photography was completed in July, with locations in LA, Miami, Austin, and New Orleans. The story centers around Miami native Carl Casper, who is the head chef at Gauloises, a popular Los Angeles restaurant. – Chef Movies
5. The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)
Director: Lasse Hallström
The Journey is an American comedy-dramatic film, directed by Lapse Halderström, from a script by Steven Knight, based on Richard C. Morris’ novel. The film stars Helen Mirren, Om Pure, Manish Dayan, and Charlotte Le On. The film was produced by Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, and DreamWorks Pictures, with Ambling Entertainment, Harp Films, and Participant Media, and Reliance Entertainment, respectively. Touchstone Pictures released the film in August of this year, and it grossed millions of dollars worldwide.
The film centers around a Muslim family, the Konkani Adams, who runs a restaurant in a French village. The restaurant is located across the street from two other restaurants: one owned by an Indian immigrant family, and the other by a French woman, both of whom have a Michelin star. As a young man, Hassan, the second-old son of the family, would go to the market with his mother to pick out the best food for the family. – Chef Movies
6. Boiling Point (2021)
Director: Philip Barantini
Boiling Point is a British drama film written and directed by Philippe Tarantino, and co-written and co-directed by James Cummings. The film stars Stephen Graham and Vignette Robinson. The film is an adaptation of a short Tarantino-directed film about a restaurant kitchen, also starring Graham. The original plan was to film eight takes of Boiling Point, but due to a lockdown, only half of these could be shot before the end of production.
The film premiered on August 25th at the 55th Karloff VARY International Film Festival and was released on January 25th in the UK. The film received critical acclaim and was nominated for the following awards: Outstanding British Film Outstanding British Debut Outstanding British Written Screenplay Outstanding Director or Producer Best Actor in Leading Role Best Casting The film was followed by a continuation TV series in which Graham, Robinson, and Walters reprise their roles. – Chef Movies
7. The Menu (2022)
Director: Mark Mylod
The Menu is an American comedy-horror film written and directed by Marc Melody, and co-written with Seth Reiss & Will Tracy. Directed and co-written by Melody, the film stars Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor Joy, Nicolas Hulot, Hong Chat, Janet McTeer, Judith Light, and John Leguizamo. The plot centers around a foodie and his date who travel to an isolated island to dine at a luxurious restaurant, where the chef prepares a lavish menu, only to be met with shocking surprises as the meal progresses.
The world premiere of The Menu took place in September in Toronto, Canada, and the film was released theatrically in the US in November, through Searchlight Pictures. The film grossed more than million worldwide and received rave reviews from critics, who praised the script and cast performances. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Actress and Best Actress: Musical or Comedy. The film was also nominated for five Saturn Awards. – Chef Movies
8. The Chef (2012)
Director: Daniel Cohen
The story of “Le Chef” is about a young French chef, Jacky Bonnet, who has been fired from his restaurant and is worried about the arrival of his baby. Despite his love of haute cuisine, he is looking for any job. He finds work as a painter in an old people’s home and makes friends with its cooks. He helps them to improve their menu, which eventually reaches the ears of the famous chef of Cargo Laggard, who is in a difficult situation.
Furthermore, he has to improve the entire menu, or the restaurant will lose its star rating and become a molecular kitchen where all the cooks will lose their jobs. Although Jacky initially refuses to work with him because it is an unpaid apprenticeship, he finally accepts after some hesitation. The film was directed by Daniel Cohen and stars Jean Reno and Michal Your. It had its International Premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival. – Chef Movies
9. Julie & Julia (2009)
Director: Nora Ephron
The movie follows the life of chef Julie Child in the early days of her culinary career and young New Yorker, Julie Powell, who strives to cook all the recipes in Child’s cookbook in a matter of days, a challenge that she describes on her popular blog.
Nephron wrote and directed the film, with Meryl Streep playing Child Amy Adams playing the title role, and Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina, and Linda Edmond playing supporting roles. Both books were published between and, with Efron’s book being based on her blog, “The Julia/Julia Project”, where she documented her daily experiences cooking every one of the five hundred and twenty-four recipes in the cookbook.
This is the first major movie based on a blog, and Efron began filming the film with Street in the title role and Adams in the role of Powell. The movie officially opened in August, at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York. The film received generally positive reviews, with critics praising Street’s performance. – Chef Movies
10. Love’s Kitchen (2011)
Director: James Hacking
Love’s Kitchen is an English romantic comedy film directed and written by James Hacking, starring Dougray Scott and Claire Forlani, as well as Michelle Ryan and Gordon Ramsay in his acting debut. It was hacking’s first feature film. The film was given a limited theatrical UK release, taking in £121 from five screens, and was also released directly to DVD in the US.
When chef Rob Haley’s wife dies in a car accident due to her dangerous habit of using a mobile phone while driving, he is left in a state of mourning. He was once a highly sought-after chef, but after reading a particularly bad review, he begins to lose customers in his once successful restaurant and his friend Gordon Ramsay comes looking for him, convincing him to get out of his rut.
Three years ago, Rob purchased the pub his wife had meant for their restaurant, and he and his daughter Michelle moved to the countryside with some of his loyal staff and plan to turn the pub into a gastropod. On the way to the pub, an American woman accosts him. – Chef Movies
11. Mostly Martha (2001)
Director: Sandra Nettelbeck
Martha is a German-German romantic comedy-drama directed and written by Sandro Bottiglieri, with starring roles in the title. Written and directed in Germany and Italy, the film was shot in Hamburg. The title is derived from the German word for “workaholic”. The movie follows Martha as she tries to cope with the sudden changes in her life, both personally and professionally, that are out of her control.
The movie was nominated for an award at the International Women’s Film Festival for “Best European Film”, as well as for a German Film Award for “Outstanding Feature Film”. Martha works as a chef at the gourmet restaurant “Lido” in Hamburg. She is a perfectionist who finds it difficult to relate to the world outside of her kitchen. Her obsession with her cooking sometimes causes her to clash with customers. Frida, the restaurant’s owner, demands that she see a therapist in order to improve Martha’s interpersonal skills. – Chef Movies
12. Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe (1978)
Director: Ted Kotcheff
Who is killing the great chefs of Europe? Is it a black comedy mystery? Ted Kotcheff is the director of this black comedy mystery film. It stars George Legal, Jacqueline Basset, and Robert Morley, and is based on a novel by Nan & Ivan Lyons. The plot of the film follows a gourmet magazine that publishes an article about its owner’s favorite chefs.
A few days after the article is published, two of the chefs are murdered in a way that resembles their specialties. A female chef and her former husband figure out the sequence of the planned murders and try to stop the next ones. The female chef knows she is the last on the killer’s list. – Chef Movies
13. Le Grand Chef (2007)
Director: Jeon Yun-su
The story of “Le Grand Chef” is set in the Jose on Dynasty, where two chefs compete for the title of “Last Royal Chef” of the nation. At a press conference, it was revealed that the cooking knife belonged to the last royal chef of the Jose Dynasty, who cut off his hand with it. The Japanese imperial ruler at the time was touched by the chef’s devotion to the king and country, so he kept the knife when he returned to Japan.
His son decides to bring it back to Korea to redeem past wrongs. To find a worthy owner, he organizes a nationwide culinary competition, where the best cook will be chosen to own this knife and become the rightful heir to the Jose on Dynasty’s last royal chef. The film is directed and written by ShowEast and produced by CJ Entertainment. It was released in November, with a length of minutes. – Chef Movies
14. Simply Irresistible (1999)
Director: Mark Tarlov
Simply Irresistible is an American romantic comedy written and directed by Judith Roberts for Regency Enterprises 20th Century Fox’s first film after Warner Bros. The plot follows Amanda Shelton and Tom Bartlett as they both inherit her late mother’s restaurant but lack the cooking skills to turn it into a success.
At the local market, they meet a mysterious and perhaps magical man named Gene O’Reilly, who claims to be one of her mother’s old friends. When Amanda sells her crab, one of them escapes cooking and becomes her pet. While chasing after the crab, Tom Bartlett sees Amanda outside and decides to have lunch with her at the Southern Cross restaurant instead of breaking up with Chris. The next day, Tom is on his way to lunch with Chris when the cab driver mistakenly drops them off at the wrong place. – Chef Movies
15. Pig (2021)
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Pig is an American drama film directed, written, and starring Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff, and Adam Akin in the lead roles. It is based on a short story by Vanessa Block and was co-written by Sarnoski and Block. The film is set in the Oregon wilderness, where Cage lives alone and is a truffle hunter. After his foraging pig is stolen, Cage must go back to his hometown of Portland to find his beloved pig. Pig was released theatrically in the United States by Neon in July. The film was met with critical acclaim, including an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and a second nomination for Cage for the CCA Award for Best Actor. – Chef Movies
16. Today’s Special (2009)
Director: David Kaplan
Today’s Special, an independent film, is a comedy based on the play Sabina’s Restaurant, written and directed by David Karlowitz. Directed by David Kaplan, Today’s Special is a comedy film directed and written by David Kaplan and directed by David Kaufman.
Today’s special is a comedy directed by David Kaufman, written by David Kaplan, and directed and edited by David Kaufman. Today’s Special’s main characters are Samir, an Indian sous chef who quits his job after he is passed over for the head chef position, due to his father’s illness. Samir’s dreams of traveling to France to study French cuisine are dashed when he has to assume the management of his family’s Indian restaurant in Queens.
The film stars Asif Gandhi, Madhya Jeffrey, Naseeruddin Shah, Jess Weixler, Harish Patel, Kendra Corrigan, Dean Winters, Ajay Baidu, and Nimitz Marked of Inimitable Pictures, and Lillian LaSalle of Sweet 180. The movie was the opening night film of the MAC Film Festival in Paris. – Chef Movies
17. East Side Sushi (2014)
Director: Anthony Lucero
The story follows Juana, a Mexican-American single mother living with her widowed father in East Oakland. She attempts a variety of jobs, including tending her father’s fruit cart, working at a Mexican taquería, and learning how to slice and dice. After being mugged while working on her fruit cart, Juana applies for a sous-chef position at Osaka, a Japanese restaurant.
Initially, she works as a kitchen assistant, but as she develops a taste for sushi, she begins to create her signature sushi dishes through a series of trial-and-error. When the sushi chef at Osaka quits, the owner asks her to help prepare sushi dishes. Juana gradually improves and makes a good impression on the veteran chef, Ski, who she begins to become close to. Although Juana keeps her mouth shut at first, she asks for a chance to be a sushi chef and is rejected by the Japanese owner because she is female and not Japanese. – Chef Movies
18. A Dash of Love (2017)
Director: Christie Will Wolf
A dash of love, also known as a pinch of love, is a romantic comedy romance television film, directed and written by Christie Will Wolf. It stars Nikki Turner, Judith Berg, and Six Ventures, and is produced by The Hallmark Channel, Crown Media Family Networks. It is the third movie in the lineup of the Hallmark Channel’s “Countdown to Valentine’s Day” seasonal programming block. Nikki Turner is a young aspiring chef who is offered the job of a lifetime when she is asked to work at her idol Holly Hanson’s luxurious restaurant.
Hoping for her next big break, Nikki soon finds herself cooking unique meals that she has learned to make herself. After a bumpy beginning, Nikki and executive chef Paul become best friends. Holly’s mean streak comes to a head when she fires Nikki and Paul simply because they were dining together in a place she didn’t approve of. Nikki and Paul then decide to open their restaurant together to prove their food is better than theirs. – Chef Movies
19. Master Cheng (2019)
Director: Mika Kaurismäki
The story follows the journey of Master Cheng, a Chinese master cook after his wife passes away. He and his son travel to a small village in Lapland called Gautama, where he helps the local people with their ailments, such as high blood pressure and menstrual pain. At the same time, a group of Chinese tourists arrives in the village and Mr. SIRPA, the restaurant owner, helps them to take care of their needs.
Later, Mr. Cheng meets his benefactor, known as “Control”, who helps him in his difficult situation at home in Shanghai, only to find out that no one in the village knows who he is. The film also touches on topics such as childlessness and the death of a spouse. A Spice for Life is a romantic drama comedy directed by Mr. Kaurismaa, starring Annamaria Tokyo and Chu Park Hong. The film is also co-written by Mr. Lassen Hsuan and Mr. Versa Patti Lori. – Chef Movies
20. Burning Man (2011)
Director: Jonathan Teplitzky
The Australian drama film “Burning Man” is the story of a British chef, Tom, working in a restaurant in Bond, Australia, who decides to do something that he knows his boss won’t approve of. After being involved in a car accident, Tom is left in a state of darkness, and all the surrounding women try to help him get back on his feet. – Chef Movies
