The greatest culinary film ever made.

[sir pball]

As declared by Anthony Bourdain, and affirmed by pretty much everyone in the industry. I'm sure it helped that Thomas Keller was the creative consultant.

I mean, it's so serious that my 30-year veteran ass has a Remy tattoo, on my forearm alongside my cake tester (IKYYK) ink.

[markie]

1. So apt

I just watched the movie for the first time last night! It was great.

[ms liberty]

2. I loved that movie.

[Sogo]

3. Me, too!!

[StarryNite]

4. Yes it is!

[lame54]

5. Haven't seen it so I'll stick with...

Like water for chocolate

[Teacher of the Year]

8. Babette's Feast and The Thief, The Cook, The Wife and her Lover are battling it out

for me...but, the dark horse winner, coming up alongside in a oompah loompah-powered paddlewheeler to take the win.

I think I'll try a regular Wonka Bar this time.

[LuvLoogie]

6. For me it has to be the Japanese film "Tampopo"

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092048/

https://athome.fandango.com/content/browse/details/Tampopo/13641

[JoseBalow]

10. I really loved that movie!

an excellent film

[xuplate]

7. Wonderful characters

[FarPoint]

9. My son did hid culinary intership with Thomas Keller...

Our Brett, he was at Per Se in New York City...3 months... He was just 20 years old then...an amazing experience for him...

[sir pball]

14. Keller was the creative consultant for Ratatoulle...

Your son would probably recognize a lot of what's happening in this film, if not have his work featured!

[FarPoint]

16. He has watched the film

a favorite for him...

[JoseBalow]

11. My vote goes to Babette's Feast

just a perfect film, in every way. 10/10

(1:33)

[La Coliniere]

15. Loved that movie.

A real classic.

[misanthrope]

12. Screw that

1) "Big Night" is shot through with love for family, life and food.

2) The temperamental chef stuff gets old fast. I spent years working in bars and restaurants, in every position and role you can think of other than owner. I will take the stress of a kitchen over the stress of dealing with the public any day of the week. The shtick about treating servers like they are the enemy is horseshit. They are are on YOUR side.

The patrons are another story. Half of them are good folks. The other half have as their goal getting the most out of you as they can while paying the very least for it that they can. They create adversarial economics in the way they operate.

Also, I think creating additional unnecessary stress in a kitchen works against your purposes -- especially when the inherent sense of urgency creates natural stress on its own -- and there is no excuse for treating other people like garbage, especially when they work for you. Your job is to help your kitchen mates focus to make everyone's job easier.

One of the chefs I worked for was a CIA grad and used to get so worked up I thought he was going to stroke out before 45 years old. I told him one night after dinner that while it seems important in the moment, in the larger scheme of things what we were doing wasn't a matter of life and death. "No one in our dining room is in danger of starving to death tonight. We're not removing a lesion from someone's brain. If anything, the people that come here are so spoiled in their daily lives that being made to wait an extra couple of minutes is probably good for their character." He just stared in shock that I even said as much.

[sir pball]

13. I don't actually disagree with you on the "angry chef" bit...

…though I think that was more of a Colette being tsundere rather than the reality of kitchens.

Yeah, the Angry Chef is an archetype, and there are even still plenty who subscribe to that, but in the last 15 or so years there's been a major and significant movement towards not being an abusive asshole.

But all that changes here is her attitude, not what she's talking about.

Scene by scene breakdown, but without times (I'm not that dedicated lol)

First and foremost, as a 30-year industry vet, "KEEP YOUR STATION CLEAR" hits me in my bones. I always say to my larval cooks "The condition of your station is a reflection of the condition of your mind. Cluttered station, cluttered mind. Keep it all clear." If you've worked in kitchens and don't agree with that…okay, I will say you're wrong there.

"Hands and arms in…the mark of a chef, dirty apron, clean sleeves."
I do wash my jackets once a week just because, but I could probably wash them once a year and have them be clean. My aprons, on the other hand…there's a reason I wear black, and have one for every day of the week.

"It was his job to be unexpected, it was our job to follow the recipe."
Yeah, 'nuff said.

"How do you tell how good bread is without tasting it?[…]the sound. The crust, listen!"
Okay, yeah, non-chef but given that I work at one of the best bakeries in the country…yes. A baguette baked that day will crackle, a day old will not.

And after that, the second half…it's so very very true we are all a bunch of misfits. Failed circus performers, thieves, international swindlers…and we all escaped by cooking.

Shit, Anthony Bourdain called it the best culinary film ever: https://brobible.com/culture/article/anthony-bourdains-favorite-food-movie-ratatouille/

I understand it may not meet your expectations of what the culinary world should be, but it is by far the most accurate representation of what the culinary world is.