Certain professions seem made for the movies – pirates, sheriffs, secret agents – but it’s taken awhile for chefs to be given the full-blown silver screen treatment. True, chefs were stars in under-the-radar indies like Big Night and Dinner Rush, but this summer two major studios – Pixar and Warner Brothers – are releasing toque-themed pictures.
First up is Ratatouille, the animated tale of Remy, a rat residing in a Parisian bistro who longs for top toquedom, from the director of The Incredibles, Brad Bird. (Peter O'Toole voices the part of feared food critic Anton Ego.) And in No Reservations, Catherine Zeta-Jones plays chef Kate Armstrong, whose life is scrambled after she’s named guardian to her niece. Zeta-Jones trained as a server at NY’s Fiamma Osteria to bone up for the role; no word on Remy’s preparation. – Curt Gathje