As many of you know, this past weekend (12/13) I turned 24. Christian and I took a trip to Charleston to celebrate my birthday, and experience a city together that neither of us had been to. We had been counting down the days until our trip for weeks, the excitement building up each day. When we finally arrived, we used every moment of daylight to explore; we fell in love with Charleston the instant we stepped foot onto the cobblestone streets. With all of this excitement pumping through our veins, you would have thought that we were out and about until the wee hours… Negatory.
We found ourselves heading back from dinner each night before 9pm. When did mid-twenties become the new senior citizen? I’m not sure, but I would sure as hell rather curl up and watch a good movie than drink cocktails and bar hop until 2AM. I’ve always been sort of a homebody. That’s not to say I didn’t have my phase in college where a vodka red bull sounded appealing, but my true self prefers the bed sheets and a good movie over a night of cocktails with heels I can’t walk in.
As a girl whose every thought revolves around food, of course any movie related to eating immediately lands on my list of top picks. If you’re like me and would rather flip on your Apple TV or get a Redbox DVD to call it a night, here’s a list of my top five favorite foodie movies to get you started.
[Tweet “Foodies: have you seen these foodie movies?”]
1. Tortilla Soup
An oldie but a goodie, this 2001 flick tells the story of Martin, a Mexican-American retired chef and father who is progressively losing his sense of taste. Despite his three daughters being grown women, the four of them live together under one roof in Los Angeles. Although Martin’s sense of taste has left him, he continues to cook lavish meals for his family, and executes them as a traditional, family ritual. Drama ensues as his single, adult daughters lives begin to change, affecting each family member in a different way.
I love this movie because the ritualistic family meals remind me of my family: every single night growing up, no matter everyones differing schedules, we sat down and ate dinner together. Why will you love it? The food. The irony of a chef losing his sense of taste seems completely devastating, but you will notice that Martin still has a sense of life in him, and he continues to enjoy producing mouthwatering meals and watching his family enjoy them: the test of a true chef.
2. Ratatouille
Okay, I know this is a children’s movie, but if you’re a 90’s kid who doesn’t still watch Pixar movies, then I’m not sure we can be friends. Ratatouille is the story of an unlikely partnership between a cooking rat and a low-in-the-ranks kitchen employee. Remy, the rat, has incredible dreams of becoming a gourmet French chef, despite the issue of being a rat, which is the most obvious, but his family’s lack of support creates tension, as well. Remy ends up in Parisian sewers (which sound fancier than regular sewers) and finds him self located beneath a famous French restaurant run by a popular Parisian chef, Auguste Gusteau. In spite of Remy being a tiny rat, he transforms the French culinary scene, all while getting into all sorts of trouble.
This movie showcases the intensity of the French restaurant industry and the influence [good] cooking has on the city of Paris. It’s just a heartwarming, family movie that you can watch with kids but you’ll be sure to love, too.
3. Chef
One of my all-time favorite movies. Chef is the account of an executive restaurant chef who loses his job after a fight over creativity between him and his boss, the owner of his restaurant. After he loses his job, (and gets into a fight with a coveted food writer for Eater, which ends up all over social media), Chef Carl Casper starts his own food truck serving [finally] his own creative concoctions. The movie conveys a food truck road trip from Miami back to Los Angeles, including stops in foodie havens such as Miami (where it began), New Orleans, and Austin.
Again, you’ll love this movie for the food. Also, it’s a family movie with a plain ole good, heartwarming story. No f-bombs or borderline porno scenes. It will make you smile and your stomach will be growling. Instead of a photo, I had to share its’ trailer. It’s okay to drool.
[Tweet “5 movies food enthusiasts must see”]
4. Eat Pray Love
Known as a major chick flick, I pretty much watch the entire Eat Pray Love movie just for the trip to Italy. Liz Gilbert, played by Julia Roberts, seemed to have everything a woman could want. But after she divorced her husband, her life and mindset did a 180. She was lost and in search of what she truly wanted to get out of the one life we all have. She decided to travel the world for a year, which represents the title of the movie: she eats in Italy, prays in India, and finds love and peace in Bali. I love this movie for many reasons, one being specifically this scene…
5. Julie & Julia
This movie is particularly for not just foodies, but food bloggers. Julie & Julia is the story of Julie Powell, a food blogger who in 2002 gave herself the challenge of cooking one Julia Child recipe everyday for a year. To keep a journal of her experience, she started a food blog, which became more and more popular as the year went on. As a food blogger in the year 2015, it is so interesting to see Julie’s blogging process from 13 years ago. Her incessant blogging and cooking lands her in hot water with her relationship with her man, with her job, and surprisingly, with Julia Child herself. The movie also highlights the life of Julia Child, a true inspiration for chefs and home cooks everywhere. Here’s a must-see clip (if you’re a food blogger, I can bet you’ve had a meltdown like this one):
While these are my favorite foodie movies (and I have yet to see Burnt which is in theaters now!), I would love some recommendations from you all!
What movie recommendations to you have for a big-time food enthusiast?
Jenn - a traveling Wife says
Ratatouille is such a good movie. I’m a sucker for any cartoon or animated film though! Happy belated birthday – I’m a December baby too (12/12).
The Blissful Balance says
Aw thank you Jenn! Happy belated birthday to you too!!
Famous Ashley Grant says
Chef was definitely my most recent favorite foodie movie. It almost made me want to buy a food truck and tour the country…almost.
The Blissful Balance says
HA me too! It looked like fun/a crap ton of work ;D
rachel at athletic avocado says
like why have i never seen any of these movies??? I need to get on that asap! Thanks for sharing
The Blissful Balance says
WHAT!! You need a movie night this weekend
Ashley @ Fit Mitten Kitchen says
HOLLA for night time couching instead of high heels and cocktails! <3 I loved Chef too, and still want to see Burnt!!! I'll just fly down to Florida and we'll go together 😉
The Blissful Balance says
YES PLEASE! MOVIE NIGHT! I’LL SNEAK IN THE BANANA/PB!
Brie @ Lean, Clean, & Brie says
Chef is one of my favorite movies! And I also love Julie and Julia, anytime I see it playing on TV I just have to sit down and watch the whole thing. It must be the foodie love and the blogging!
Emily @ My Healthyish Life says
Movie + home cooked meal + good company = THE best. I love Julie & Julia! I’m trying to think of other food-related movies and the only other (lame) one I can come up with is one of the Disney Channel movie’s from yesteryear that was about a baseball player loving to cook. Obviously that doesn’t make the list for a reason 😉
The Blissful Balance says
HAHAH wait I used to live for Disney Channel movies #tbt
Georgie says
Wait, I totally love all these movies! Chef is a particular fav. The grilled cheese scene gets me every time ahaha.
The Blissful Balance says
YESSSS the ultimate cheese porn.
Emilie @ Emilie Eats says
I’ll be the first to admit that I’d binge the HECK out of Eat Pray Love any day.
Alexandria @ Al2getherfit says
So sad I’ve only seen 2 of these movies! I need to sharpen up my foodie movie knowledge!
Margaret @ youngandrungry says
This is so sad, but I’ve only seen one of these movies! I’m ashamed. Movies for wine enthusiasts though and I could write a book about it! I’m pinning so I can find this when I need it most
Run DMT says
I love Chef. It’s such a great warm-fuzzy family film too. But funny enough, I’m not a fan of Ratatouille. Weird, I know. I need to see a few of the others you listed too. Have you seen the Hundred Foot Journey? I haven’t yet.
Emily Weir says
Amen to being a senior citizen in your mid-twenties. I’m the girl that has to take an afternoon nap if I have any hope of staying up past 11pm for a party. Also, no matter how old I get, Ratatouille is still one of my favorite movies, even if I do get hungry and pause the movie multiple times to get snacks during the story.
Lindsay @ A Runnaroundd Life says
I LOVED Chef. I’ve watched it several times on Neflix. Can we talk about that grilled cheese…….OMG.
JC says
Watch “The Hundred Foot Journey” and “The Big Night”. Both really good.
Les @ The Balanced Berry says
I need to watch all of these! I’ve only seen Eat, Pray Love (loved it) and I’m realizing I need to step my game up. I hope you had an amazing birthday and trip to Charleston!
Kellen says
I absolutely love this! My boyfriend and I just went away to Disneyland for our anniversary and we were back in the hotel watching movies right after dinner each day. I wouldn’t have it any other way. No Reservations & Eat Pray Love makes me salivate every time!
Jess @hellotofit says
Glad you had a good time! Ray and I tried to stay out both nights we were there but ended up having a couple drinks and going back to the air bnb lol. And then proceeded to watch episodes of Master of None.
I absolutely loved the movie Chef such a cute/funny/good one.
annie says
Some of these I love, some I’ve never seen! Two other favorite food movies of mine are Simply Irresistible and Spanglish.
Stacey says
Good selection! My all time favorite is Big Night. Years ago we hosted a dinner and recreated the final menu. It was a lot of work but a wonderful meal and evening. Like Water for Chocolate & Tampopo are classics too
Carly @ Fitliving blog says
Great list! I haven’t seen a few of these and must watch Chef! That one looks so good. I’m dying to go to Charleston for the FOOD!
GiGi Eats says
Crazily enough, I think I have only seen MAYBE one of these, and I cannot even remember!!! GAH!
Rachel says
I love Chef!! It’s gotta be one of my favorites, for sure. I also love how it’s a little bit of a commentary on how social media changes the game. The little boy with his Tweets are my favorite. Making me want to watch again!
Emily says
I loved Ratatouille.