Top 6 Movies Based on Food

It’s Movie Night 

When we think about ‘food movies,’ they can conjure up images of white-coated male chefs, usually with a short temper, who have to learn an important message. But – they can be so much more than that! They can show some of the greatest food from across the globe: gorgeous Italian pasta, the best of Parisian ratatouille, or New Jersey food trucks. 

This list of movies based on food will bring on nostalgia and have you craving all the delicious food before you on the screen. 

The Top 6

Big Night (1996)

Big Night is not just an incredible food movie but has one of the most impressive food items to be created in cinema history: the pasta cake, otherwise known as Timpano. The film stars Stanley Tucci and is based on two brothers who are running an Italian restaurant on the Jersey shore. The movie isn’t just about the gracious God that is the Timpano but is also about family values and the authentic relationships between them. The perfect film to watch, and afterward, attempt your very own Timpano.

Ratatouille (2007)

The list wouldn’t exist without adding the beloved Pixar classic. The movie deals with themes of what it is like to love yourself and also follow your passions, no matter how big or small. As the famous film phrase goes, “anyone can cook.” Remy the rat has to survive in this unfair world, living under the wrath of people telling him what he can’t be. But that doesn’t stop him. Hiding under the hat of his chef friend, he takes Paris and its food critics by storm, producing the best food the city has seen. An artist’s story.

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Based on Roald Dahl’s 1964 classical book, this film transports you into a brand new, candy-filled world. Kids pull a golden ticket from a Wonka Bar and earn the chance to tour Willy Wonka’s famous chocolate factory. However, things aren’t all sunshine and rainbows, and we are taken on many twists and turns, seeing things go badly for the children. Augustus Gloop drowns in a chocolate river, and Violet Beauregarde becomes a blueberry, and so on. Prepare to be taken on a journey of sweet-filled surprises and inventions for candy that you’ve never seen before.

Julie & Julia (2009)

French food: delicious but difficult to make in theory. If you want to master the art of it, you would need an expert’s advice, like Julia Child, for example. She could show you the low-down for the famous recipes, French onion soup, coq au vin or boeuf bourguignon. Practice makes perfect, which is why Julie Powell has launched her cooking career by being a food blogger based on Julia Child’s recipes. This movie parallels the two women,  Julie’s (Amy Adams) narrative of living in present-day New York dreaming of becoming famous, and Julia’s character (played by Meryl Streep) back in 1950s Paris with her husband. The story unites these women with their desire to cook, and the food they make all looks delicious!

Tampopo (1985)

This is a movie based on making the perfect bowl of ramen. A woman achieves this, Tampopo (“Dandelion” in Japanese, played by Itami’s wife, Nobuko Miyamoto), with the help of truck drivers, mentors, and ‘professional’ tasters along the way. But – it is not as easy as you’d expect! Tampopo and her gang hunt down perfect recipes, practicing timed trials, and offer a peek into other people’s lives and their journey towards culinary success. Tampopo paves the way for women in the rare ramen industry and how we understand our relationship to food.

Uncorked (2020)

Wine and barbeque sound like a pair that shouldn’t go together, but in this movie, they do. Uncorked centers on the relationship between young Black Elijah Bruener (Mamoudou Athie), heir to a Memphis barbecue chain that he has no passion for running, and his family. It is a movie about wine but also family and how they ‘uncork’ all of their issues. In this film, we explore Elijah’s relationship and past lies and uncover why he doesn’t want to run the family-owned business.