Special Report
Best Movies About Food, Restaurants, and Chefs
Published:
If you’re obsessed with food, then you most likely enjoy more than just eating it. There’s a whole world of virtual food out there, in magazines and books, on social media, on TV…and in some of the best movies of all time. (Food may or may not be involved, but here are the 25 best movies you’ve probably never seen.)
Food can work its way into movies in countless ways. Many memorable scenes have taken place around the dinner table or at a restaurant, from the cringeworthy family dinner involving a pet cat in “Meet the Parents” to the iconic Italian restaurant scene in “The Godfather.” But in some movies, the food is front and center. (Sitting down to a meal can be hazardous in more ways than one. These very famous people all died at the dinner table.)
Some of the best food movies take place in the pressure-cooker environment of a professional kitchen. Some follow aspiring chefs and restaurateurs (including an enterprising rat) as they chase their dreams; some are “slice of life” stories that happen to take place in and around a restaurant kitchen or dining room.
To determine the best food and restaurant movies, 24/7 Tempo developed an index using average ratings on IMDb, an online movie database owned by Amazon, and a combination of audience scores and Tomatometer scores on Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator, as of August 2022, weighting all ratings equally.
Click here to see the best movies about food, restaurants, and chefs
All of these movies are great in their own way, and they all have one thing in common: they celebrate the glory of enjoying a great meal with friends and loved ones. One word advice before seeking these films out: eat before watching!
25. Julie & Julia (2009)
> IMDb user rating: 7.0/10 (113,388 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 70% (363,553 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 77% (227 reviews)
> Directed by: Nora Ephron
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.
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24. Chocolat (2000)
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (183,863 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 83% (328,998 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 62% (117 reviews)
> Directed by: Lasse Hallström
“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.
23. Today’s Special (2009)
> IMDb user rating: 6.6/10 (6,467 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 72% (2,062 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 81% (31 reviews)
> Directed by: David Kaplan
“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.
22. Soul Kitchen (2009)
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (38,426 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 74% (5,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 73% (60 reviews)
> Directed by: Fatih Akin
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.
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21. The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (79,523 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (32,505 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 68% (148 reviews)
> Directed by: Lasse Hallström
“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.
20. Kings of Pastry (2009)
> IMDb user rating: 6.9/10 (1,321 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 69% (1,286 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (35 reviews)
> Directed by: D. A. Pennebaker & Chris Hegedus
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).
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19. Eating Raoul (1982)
> IMDb user rating: 6.8/10 (7,643 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 72% (5,441 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (21 reviews)
> Directed by: Paul Bartel
“Eating Raoul” is a black comedy about a married couple who commit crimes as a way to fund their dream restaurant.
18. Waitress (2007)
> IMDb user rating: 7.0/10 (44,860 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 74% (410,357 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 89% (174 reviews)
> Directed by: Adrienne Shelly
“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.
17. The Founder (2016)
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (137,551 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (32,599 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 81% (244 reviews)
> Directed by: John Lee Hancock
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.
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16. Soul Food (1997)
> IMDb user rating: 7.0/10 (7,692 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (20,824 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 81% (42 reviews)
> Directed by: George Tillman Jr.
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.
15. Diner (1982)
> IMDb user rating: 7.1/10 (21,259 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 78% (5,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (44 reviews)
> Directed by: Barry Levinson
“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.
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14. Chef (2014)
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (205,846 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (60,014 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 87% (191 reviews)
> Directed by: Jon Favreau
“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.
13. The Bob’s Burgers Movie (2022)
> IMDb user rating: 7.0/10 (13,987 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (1,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 88% (144 reviews)
> Directed by: Loren Bouchard & Bernard Derriman
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.
12. Dinner Rush (2000)
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (5,048 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (4,136 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (45 reviews)
> Directed by: Bob Giraldi
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.
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11. The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (38,169 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (10,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (49 reviews)
> Directed by: Peter Greenaway
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.
10. Mostly Martha (2001)
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (8,287 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (5,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (85 reviews)
> Directed by: Sandra Nettelbeck
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.
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9. Big Night (1996)
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (18,990 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (8,199 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (56 reviews)
> Directed by: Campbell Scott & Stanley Tucci
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.
8. Delicatessen (1991)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (85,313 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (25,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 89% (55 reviews)
> Directed by: Marc Caro & Jean-Pierre Jeunet
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.
7. Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (21,053 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (10,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 88% (50 reviews)
> Directed by: Ang Lee
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.
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6. The Baker’s Wife (1938)
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (2,113 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (500 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (8 reviews)
> Directed by: Marcel Pagnol
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.
5. The Lunchbox (2013)
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (53,300 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (15,559 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (117 reviews)
> Directed by: Ritesh Batra
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.
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4. Ratatouille (2007)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (669,860 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (1,072,742 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (251 reviews)
> Directed by: Brad Bird & Jan Pinkava
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.
3. Babette’s Feast (1987)
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (20,191 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (5,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (34 reviews)
> Directed by: Gabriel Axel
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.
2. Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (34,620 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (30,063 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 99% (95 reviews)
> Directed by: David Gelb
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.
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1. Tampopo (1985)
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (19,034 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (5,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (56 reviews)
> Directed by: Jûzô Itami
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.”
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