Movies about food are the only thing better than food itself, and fortunately there are plenty of tasty films to choose from. I’ve hand‑picked the ten I consider the crème de la crème of the genre and offered a quick glimpse of each below. Curious fact: only three of these titles are in English – what does that say about the culinary ambitions of the UK and USA?
10. Big Night (1996, English)
1996, English
Primo and Secondo are two brothers who have emigrated from Italy to open an Italian restaurant in America. Primo is the irascible and gifted chef, brilliant in his culinary genius, but determined not to squander his talent on making the routine dishes that customers expect. Secondo is the smooth front‑man, trying to keep the restaurant financially afloat, despite few patrons other than a poor artist who pays with his paintings.
The owner of the nearby Pascal’s restaurant, enormously successful despite its mediocre fare, offers a solution – he will call his friend, a renowned jazz musician, to play a special benefit at their eatery. Primo then begins to craft his masterpiece, a feast of a lifetime, for the brothers’ big night…
9. Chocolat (2000, English)
2000, English
Vianne Rocher and her young daughter drift into a conservative French village and set up a chocolate shop during Lent, provoking skepticism and resistance. As Vianne works her magic, the townspeople are gradually won over by her exuberance and the irresistible chocolates, except for the mayor who is determined to shut her down. When a troupe of river drifters visits, Vianne teaches the locals about acceptance and discovers love for herself along the way.
8. Kitchen Stories (2003, Norwegian)
2003, Norwegian
In post‑war Sweden, researchers discover that an average housewife walks the equivalent distance of Stockholm to Congo each year while preparing family meals. The Home Research Institute dispatches eighteen observers to a rural Norwegian district to map the kitchen routines of single men. The observers are on twenty‑four‑hour call, stationed in specially placed chairs inside each kitchen, and under no circumstances may they be spoken to or take part in the cooking.
7. Bella Martha (2001, German)
2001, German
Chef Martha Klein rules a German restaurant with an iron fist, demanding absolute perfection from her staff and tolerating no criticism of her cooking. Her life revolves obsessively around the kitchen, even when forced into therapy she continues to talk about her work. After her sister dies in a car accident, Martha takes in her eight‑year‑old niece, Lina. While grappling with Lina’s headstrong nature, a new chef named Mario is hired, threatening Martha’s dominance. The pressures of her personal and professional worlds force Martha to confront her attitudes and choices, leading to profound change.
6. God of Cookery (1996, Cantonese)
1996, Cantonese
The self‑proclaimed God of Cookery, a brilliant chef who judges any challenger to his title, is publicly humiliated when a jealous rival exposes him as a con‑man and strips him of his crown. Determined to reclaim his status, the former God embarks on a quest to out‑cook his adversary and prove once and for all who truly deserves the title of God of Cookery.
5. Tampopo (1985, Japanese)
1985, Japanese
This humorous homage to culinary delight follows trucker Goro, who rides into a small town like a modern‑day Shane, to help Tampopo perfect her fast‑food noodle shop. Interwoven with the main plot are a series of vignettes that celebrate food’s importance—from a gangster who mixes hot sex with cuisine to an elderly lady who terrorizes a shopkeeper by compulsively squeezing his wares.
4. Like Water For Chocolate (1992, Spanish)
1992, Spanish
Tita and Pedro long to marry, but Tita is bound by tradition to care for her aging mother, prohibiting her from wedlock. Pedro ends up marrying Tita’s sister, yet he confides that his true affection remains for Tita. When Tita is forced to bake the wedding cake, the guests are overwhelmed with profound sadness. Through this experience, Tita discovers she can wield strange, magical powers with her cooking.
3. The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989, English)
1989, English
The wife of a brutal crime boss embarks on a secret romance with a gentle bookseller, meeting between meals at her husband’s restaurant. The film intertwines food, color‑coded symbolism, sex, murder, torture, and even cannibalism, creating a visually stunning yet brutally uncompromising modern fable often interpreted as an allegory for Thatcherism.
2. Eat Drink Man Woman (1994, Mandarin)
1994, Mandarin
Senior Master Chef Chu lives in a spacious Taipei house with his three unmarried daughters: Jia‑Jen, a chemistry teacher turned Christian; Jia‑Chien, an airline executive; and Jia‑Ning, a student who works at a fast‑food restaurant. Their family life revolves around an elaborate Sunday dinner ritual, while each member navigates their own love lives and personal challenges.
1. Babette’s Feast (1987, Danish)
1987, Danish
In 19th‑century Denmark, two adult sisters reside in an isolated village with their father, the revered pastor of a tiny Protestant congregation. Though opportunities arise for them to leave, they remain to serve their father and church. Years later, a French refugee named Babette arrives, pleading for shelter, and becomes their maid, housekeeper, and cook. After the father’s death, the sisters decide to host a banquet to mark the centennial of his birth. Despite concerns about Babette—a Catholic foreigner—preparing the meal, they grant her full control. Babette then creates a feast of a lifetime for the villagers and an important guest, transforming hearts and palates alike.