Is there anything more mesmerising than watching the careful, methodical preparation of a dish so beautiful you couldn’t possibly eat it? Movies about food not only tell great stories – imposter chefs, heartbreak in the kitchen, the diary of a travelling food truck – but they're also often almost more delicious and rewarding than the real thing. All these films plot the highs and lows of human emotion with a delectable hook, celebrating food and its personalities in all their bitter, salty, sour and sweet glory.
Need more streaming ideas? Check out Time Out London's definitive list of the 50 best rom-coms of all time, or the 50 best films of the 2010s.
Queen of the rom-com Nora Ephron does not disappoint with her love letter to cooking, Julie & Julia. Buttery French classics travel from Julia Child's cookbook to the Manhattan home of food blogger Julie Powell, as the camera lingers indecently on plates of beef bourguignon, glistening bruschetta and that lush raspberry Bavarian cream. Amy Adams and Meryl Streep play the titular characters to perfection.
Available online via Netflix.
Will loveable, ambitious rodent Remy realise his life-long dream of becoming a top chef? Ratatouille is Pixar at its most witty, gently moral and visually spectacular. Even the most sceptical amongst us can suspend our disbelief to champion this talking rat with uncanny cooking prowess who's able to, quite literally, pull his human master's puppet strings by sitting inside his toque blanche. This one's always worth a rewatch.
Available online via Disney+.
This quiet, meditative documentary profiles Jiro Ono, the 85-year-old proprietor of the much-loved Tokyo sushi restaurant Sukiyabashi Jiro. Food is clearly this film's darling: think close- ups of gleaming, silken fish, chefs in a flurry of action, and methodical, mesmerising knives at work. Sit back and let the master show you how it's done.
Available online via Netflix.
A one-time wunderkind chef quits his job at a swanky Los Angeles restaurant in favour of driving a food truck around the country spruiking cheesy, greasy, top-notch Cubanos. The film is about the sandwich, sure, but it's also about the complicated relationships chef Carl Casper (wonderfully portrayed by Jon Favreau) navigates with his son and his ex-wife (Modern Family's Sofia Vergara).
Available online via Netflix.
The Trip is, at its heart, an ingenious road movie. Actor-comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon play themselves while cruising through the north of England on an eating tour, hilariously insulting each others' careers and putting on very convincing accents. The quick-witted banter is cut through with plenty of behind-the-scenes shots of top chefs prepping all sorts of delicacies. Surprisingly, sequels in which the pair go on similar food trips to Italy, Spain and Greece, stay true to the freshness and pace of the original.
Available online via Stan.
This landmark Mexican film based on a magical-realist novel has all the trappings of a classic love story: Tita loves Pedro, but Tita's mother does not. Pedro marries Tita's sister and poor Tita finds herself cooking in sorrow – until she discovers she has the power to transfer her feelings to others through the food she prepares. Seldom has forbidden love been so sensual and chock full of visceral thrill.
Available online via SBS On Demand.
This wacky Japanese classic sets out a series of vignettes beginning from the moment a truck driver arrives at a widow's restaurant, promising to make her the most phenomenal noodle-chef in Tokyo. Full of off-beat humour and slurping noises, Tampopo is a cinematic ASMR experience with a lot of heart.
Available via Kanopy.
Within days of arriving in a quiet French town, the subversive Vianne, played by Juliette Binoche, opens an unusual chocolate shop full of gorgeous confections. The problem is that it's just across the square from the local church. Vianne's knack for understanding the villagers' secret desires coaxes them to lose themselves to temptation. It's got all the good stuff: mystery, French accents, Johnny Depp in his prime and a whole lot of chocolate.
Available online via Stan.
In this witty dramedy, Primo and Secondo are a pair of Italian brothers trying to make it in the restaurant business. Having journeyed from Italy to New Jersey in the mid-1950s, they're determined to make a killing with their authentic Italian cooking, but their food proves a little too authentic for some. When they're asked to cook for a very big night, they find out just how far their integrity goes. Bonus points for a stellar cast, featuring Stanley Tucci, Ian Holm, Allison Janney and Minnie Driver.
Available online via SBS On Demand.
Our definitive list of where to eat in Sydney right now. We hope you're hungry because you're going to want to sample from every one of them.
Discover Time Out original video
