“I love food!” This statement should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me. I love eating it, hearing stories about it, sharing it, preparing it and watching it being prepared. Though I love binging the latest series on my streaming services, for the most part, my television is usually set to the Food Network.
Aside from seeing it as the main protagonist on the small screen I love the combination of food and film. I’m not talking about buttered popcorn, M&Ms or Twizzlers that we typically chomp down on during a movie, but rather, food moments featured on the big screen.
In honour of National Cinema Day today, I have compiled a spread of food on film, that serves up healthy doses of laughter and even tears; that has been thought provoking and culturally informative or has invoked beloved memories; ones that have warmed my heart and even sent hunger pangs to my stomach. So, here’s the dish on some of my onscreen favorites.
I’ll begin with onscreen moments that to me embody the true joy of food and cooking; the opportunity to gather with friends, family and loved ones to break bread. The first of these is highlighted in Eat, Pray, Love where the beauty of the eternal city is matched only by that of the food found in the marketplaces, piazzas and restaurants of Rome. Who can forget Liz enjoying her apartment picnic for one, or ordering a feast, in Italian, for her friends (my favorite of which, Luca Spaghetti) all’aperto. Not to mention of course the wonderful way in which she bids those same friends’ adieu, by preparing for them an American Thanksgiving dinner in Italy (which gets eaten for breakfast).
Similarly, I adore the scene in Under the Tuscan Sun where Diane Lane finds joy in unpacking her cookbooks and uses them to prepare her daily specials for the contractors who become her new Italian family. I also love the scene in Mrs. Doubtfire where Robin Williams is beaming with love and pride as his children compliment him on the spaghetti dinner that he has prepared. Despite the current state of his family, gathering around the table for a meal seems to make everything better, even if for a short while.
To the list of scenes involving sugo and spaghetti I must add the Godfather when Clemenza gives Mikey a lesson on making spaghetti sauce “you start out with a little bit of oil. Then you fry some garlic. Then you throw in some tomatoes, tomato paste, you fry it; ya make sure it doesn’t stick. You get it to a boil; you shove in all your sausage and your meatballs; heh…? And a little bit o’ wine. An’ a little bit o’ sugar, and that’s my trick.” (Here’s also a little movie trivia, the recipe came from Francis Ford Coppola, who directed the film. He says he put the recipe in the script because, if the film flopped, at least whoever saw it would learn how to make spaghetti sauce).
This classic movie moment can only be topped by another, two adorable, animated dogs, sharing a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs on a checkered tablecloth, serenaded by an accordion under the moon of a bella notte in Disney’s Lady and the Tramp.
Then, there are those moments of joy and laughter that too come from food, one of which involves once again that talented and beautiful Julia Roberts. My second favorite Julia scene is the laugh out loud moment from Pretty Women where, after struggling to remember which fork to use when, she sends her escargot flying clear across the five-star restaurant where she is dining and comes back with “slippery little suckers aren’t they?” Another film of high hilarity involving food preparation comes once again from Mrs. Doubtfire where Robin Williams suffers that unforgettable hot flash, when, his buxom padded bosoms flame up while preparing dinner.
Food comedy continues to ensue in another favorite My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Classic lines like:
“Nikko! Don’t play with the food! When I was your age, we didn’t have food!”.
“What do you mean he don’t eat no meat? Oh, that’s okay. I make lamb”.
“lan, are you hungry? Uh no, I already ate. Okay, I make you something”.
“There are three things that every Greek woman must do in life: marry Greek boys, make Greek babies, and feed everyone”; and of course,
“There’s a hole in this cake!
But perhaps the most poignant and moving moment, Toula’s father giving his toast at his daughter’s wedding “You know, the root of the word Miller is a Greek word. Miller come from the Greek word “milo,” which is mean “apple,” so there you go. As many of you know, our name, Portokalos, is come from the Greek word “portokali,” which mean “orange.” So, okay? Here tonight, we have, apple and orange. We all different, but in the end, we all fruit”.
Of course, no discussion on flicks and food can be complete without making mention of the films whose subject matter is just that. The first, a romantic comedy (I’m a gal who loves her chick flicks) starring Catherine Zeta Jones and Aaron Eckhart (who if you’re playing 6 degrees of separation, starred with an actress whose films made my list earlier), No Reservations. This film too has a very memorable pasta scene in it (hmmm I think we may be starting to see a pattern here) where sous chef Nick prepares some pasta in the restaurant kitchen casually leaving it for young Zoe who hasn’t been eating a thing with her aunt and Chef Kate (to whom she’s been entrusted since the death of her mother). I have to admit I particularly like that pasta, pizza and tiramisu are all extras in this film.
Aside from the feel-good love story and happy family ending in this film, what I found most noteworthy was the food analogy made by Kate’s therapist during one of their sessions. The chef tells her how she wishes there could be a cookbook for life will all the recipes telling you exactly what to do and the response she gets is “it’s the recipes that you create yourself that are the best”.
Speaking of films centred around chefs, how incredible was Bradley Cooper plating up French fare in Burnt and Jon Favreau created those Cubano’s with such care in Chef.
From live action film I transition to the lighthearted animation of Ratatouille (Disney seems to have quite a way with food as well). While this culinary cartoon about a food loving rat who pairs up with a young kitchen worker (who is named after a pasta by the way, in case you’re keeping count) begins and ends with gourmet references. My favorite moment comes when food critic Anton Ego takes a bite of the title dish and memories of his childhood coming flooding back to him. This scene resonates with me incredibly as the premise of most of my blogs is how a particular dish takes me back to a particular place or moment in time. Similarly, the Disney Pixar film Turning Red features an incredible scene of dad Jin preparing a stunning home-cooked meal highlighting the beauty of Asian cuisine.
The next film should come as no surprise as a favorite for a food blogger, Julie and Julia. Aside from all the lovely scenery of the City of Love, I became enamoured with the two non-fictional protagonists and their passion for food and cookery and how they parlayed that passion into recipes for success. Being a total romantic, I admittedly declare Paul’s poetic pairing of food and love one of my favorite lines ever “you are the butter to my bread, the breath to my life”
“To eat good food is to be close to God” particularly if that food is Italian and happens to be pasta, or at least in this particular cinematic feature, “Big Night” (the second film on my list starring my paesano, Stanley Tucci). The story of brothers Primo and Secondo is one that I repeatedly enjoy. I admire Primo’s conviction in the kitchen refusing to dumb down his cuisine for ignorant diners and insisting that “people should come just for the food”. But the greatest scene for me is the preparation of the Timpano, where it’s all hands-on deck to work on the southern Italian speciality with great pride.
And finally, as the dessert if you will, I cap off my list with two films. First, It’s Complicated, I absolutely adore the scene where Meryl Streep and Steve Martin flirtatiously bake chocolate croissant and indulge in the sweetest moment of all, a passionate kiss.
Of course, I could not conclude without the mention of Chocolat where the only thing more seductive than Johnny Depp is the cocoa bean skillfully handled by the character Vianne Rocher. I absolutely adore the way a chocolatier and her shop create such a stir in a small French village. From the cocoa nibs that rekindle the fire in a marriage; to the seashells that spark a new romance; to the hot chocolate the reunites a grandmother and her grandson, this film as its tagline states, is sinfully delicious.
While some of these selections may not be considered cinematic masterpieces or come from films entirely dedicated to food, they feature some of the most delectable scenes on cuisine. Buon Appetito!
