Best Movies About Food, Restaurants, and Chefs

Amy Adams plays a woman fed up with her job, so to relieve the frustration, she decides to cook all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s landmark French cookbooks. The film weaves in the true story of how Child (played by Meryl Streep) mastered French cooking.

“Chocolat” tells the story of a single mother who moves to a small town with her 6-year-old daughter in 1959 and opens a small chocolate shop, changing the way local residents with a very traditional mindset think of life.

“Today’s Special” is a foodie comedy about a young sous-chef in an upscale restaurant in Manhattan who gets frustrated with his job. He is forced to take over his family’s Indian restaurant after his father becomes ill, and ends up rediscovering his passion for cooking.

This German comedy is based on a true story. The owner of a Greek diner tries to revive the place by hiring a talented new chef.

“The Hundred-Foot Journey” is a comedy-drama about the battle between two skilled chefs in a small French village. On one side there is the young Indian culinary novice, self-taught. On the other, the owner of an acclaimed Michelin-starred restaurant 100 feet away.

The s a documentary that follows a group of famous French pastry chefs as they display their skills during the country’s most prestigious craftsmen competition, for Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Craftsman in France).

“Eating Raoul” is a black comedy about a married couple who commit crimes as a way to fund their dream restaurant.

“Waitress” is a comedy that tells the story of a young waitress who happens to be an exceptionally talented pastry chef. When she finds out she is pregnant, she makes a plan to leave her abusive husband.

Based on true events, “The Founder” is the story of how the modern-day McDonald’s was created by a struggling businessman, and became the biggest fast-food restaurant chain in the world.

As an aging Chicago matriarch is hospitalized, her 40-year tradition of serving Sunday dinners to her progeny is abruptly halted, and her daughters’ heightening quarrels threaten to fracture the family even further.

“Diner” follows a group of friends in their early 20s who reunite at their favorite Baltimore diner in 1959 and contemplate their passage into adulthood as one of their gang reconsiders his upcoming marriage plans. The film marked the first credited film roles for Ellen Barkin, Paul Reiser, and Tim Daly.

“Chef” is a road comedy-drama that follows a famous chef as he loses his job and moves across the country to start a food truck with his young son in an attempt to exercise creative freedom.

An animated musical comedy based on the popular television series, this film follows the hilarious Belcher family as they attempt to save their burger restaurant after a sinkhole opens up in front of it.

Set in a bustling New York Italian restaurant owned by a veteran bookie, “Dinner Rush” combines organized crime, gambling addiction, and inventive cuisine in an explosive and unpredictable drama.

When a brutal mob boss becomes the new owner of a high-end restaurant, illicit sex, torture, murder, and cannibalism become the fare in this graphic cinematic masterpiece.

A stubborn and obsessive chef is forced to take in her newly orphaned niece – who is just as headstrong as her – and meanwhile, must deal with a new sous-chef, whose avant-garde style in the kitchen is likely to drive her to madness.

Set in 1950’s New Jersey, “Big Night” follows two Italian immigrant brothers who run a struggling restaurant, as they plan a huge night of jazz and sumptuous cuisine to save their business.

A French black comedy set in a post-apocalyptic world where food is extremely scarce, “Delicatessen” follows a clown who applies for a position in a butcher shop and becomes next in line to be killed by the butcher and sold as meat.

This Taiwanese comedy-drama examines the shift from tradition to modernity as it follows a retired chef and his three grown daughters, who prepare a lavish family meal every Sunday and talk about their personal trials and relationships.

This French drama details a small town’s joy at the arrival of a new baker, and the chaos that ensues when his young wife runs off with a shepherd, leaving him heartbroken and unable to bake.

A mistaken lunchbox delivery in Mumbai sets off a pen-pal romance between an aging widower and an unhappy housewife in this affectionate Hindi-language film.

This animated comedy follows a young gourmand, who happens to be a rat, as he attempts to become a famous chef by striking up a deal with the garbage boy at a famous Paris restaurant.

This Danish drama, based on a 1958 story by Karen Blixen (better known as Isak Dinesen), takes place in a small, strongly religioiusProtestant village. It follows the two pious and dedicated daughters of a priest, who take over the church upon their father’s death, and also take in a young French refugee who agrees to become their cook in exchange for shelter.

This documentary examines the dedication to craft that drives an aging sushi master and his tireless team – including his eldest son and hopeful successor – as they operate the most exclusive sushi restaurant in Tokyo.

A comedy and ode to the pleasures of eating, Tampopo follows a truck driver who stumbles upon a decrepit ramen shop and decides to help its widowed owner revamp her restaurant. A series of vignettes about the interplay between love and food add spice to this “ramen western.”