Food Movies Mom Will Love
In a couple of days it’ll be Mother’s Day and flowers are a wonderful gift. But what she really wants is time with you.
Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
Starring: Kathy Bates, Mary-Louis Parker and Cicely Tyson
The gist: An elderly woman, Ninny, tells her story to unhappy housewife, Evelyn, about how she and her best friend cooked food at the Whistle Stop Café in the Depression era.
Where you’ll start getting hungry: The food fight scene amid a stint of pie-making is legendary. You’ll also start craving fried green tomatoes when Evelyn brings Ninny a freshly made batch.
Chocolat (2000)
Starring: Johnny Depp and Dame Judi Dench
The gist: When chocolatier Viviane opens up a chocolate shop in a quiet French village, right when the townsfolk are celebrating Lent, she causes quite a stir, but eventually most of the village’s residents – as well as visiting gypsy, Roux – fall under her spell.
Where you’ll start getting hungry: The scene where Viviane makes roast quail with a creamy chocolate sauce.
Ratatouille (2007)
With the voices of: Patton Oswalt and Will Arnett
The gist: A true feel-good gem, this animated film sees Remy, a gutsy little mouse with a penchant for cooking, become the ghost chef behind a hapless young guy called Alfredo in a restaurant kitchen.
Where you’ll start getting hungry: That’s a no-brainer – Remy’s special ratatouille, which reduces a feared food critic to (happy) tears.
Julie and Julia (2009)
Starring: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Stanley Tucci
The gist: The film follows the early life of the late culinary legend, Julia Child, as well as that of Julie Powel, who starts a blog about recreating each of the 524 dishes featured in Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
Where you’ll start getting hungry: Golden brown Dover sole in a butter sauce, duck breast encased in puff pastry, an oozing piece of Brie, a roast chicken with stuffing… you get the point.