We have increasingly become a nation of foodies. Just look at the TV shows on offer – MasterChef, The Taste, My Kitchen Rules, Top Chef, The Great British Bake Off are all cooking shows that are extremely popular now. There are also food related programs like the now defunct No Reservations, Parts Unknown, Kitchen Nightmares, Man vs Food (Nation) and even odes to excess like Epic Meal Empire.
That’s not even counting the craft beer movement which has spawned shows like Dark Horse Nation and Brew Dogs. All this has made Gordon Ramsay, Anthony Bourdain (he was a chef at Les Halles before he became a host), Graham Elliot, Heston Blumenthal and other Michelin Star chefs becoming household names. Hollywood has also increasingly come up with movies featuring food as the primary theme – starting from Chocolat (which was the first movie that caught my attention) to documentaries like Jiro Dreams of Sushi (about the 3 Michelin Star Sukiyabashi Jiro in Tokyo).
I admit that most of the programming I watch nowadays are food-related shows. I’ve also eaten at Michelin-starred establishments from Hong Kong to France and I pre-order The Red Guide from Amazon every year.
I went to Paris with my better half earlier this year and the primary reason for our trip was to eat at Michelin-starred (and Bib Gourmand) restaurants. We’re both very interested in food, I even do a little cooking myself. I was amazed at the variety and freshness of produce in France – a lot of which we can’t get here.
We also cooked during our trip and one of the interesting things we saw in Paris was a line of ready-to-eat meals by the 28 Michelin Star chef Joel Robuchon. This isn’t your average TV dinner but gourmet meals that you can just heat up and eat. There’s even one called Les St Jacques au Noilly & Riz Basmati cuisine. It’s a fusion of Indian and French food and that’s what a really intriguing upcoming film is all about.
The Hundred-Foot Journey is a film produced by Stephen Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey with Lasse Hallström as the director. It’s based on a novel about the Kadam family, who came from India to settle in a picturesque quaint village in France to open an Indian restaurant called Maison Mumbai.
They run into the chilly chef owner of Le Saule Pleureur (The Weeping Willow), a Michelin-starred classical French restaurant run by Madame Mallory (Academy Award winning actress Helen Mirren) just a hundred feet away and the her protests against the new Indian restaurant threatens to escalate until Hassan’s passion for French haute cuisine (and also the beautiful sous chef, Marguerite – played by Charlotte Le Bon) combines to weave magic between their two cultures and imbue the small town with flavors of life that even Madame Mallory can’t ignore.
At first Madame Mallory’s culinary rival, she eventually recognizes Hassan’s gift as a chef and takes him under her wing.
The Hundred-Foot Journey abounds with flavors that burst across the tongue. A stimulating triumph over exile, blossoming with passion and heart, it is a portrayal of two worlds colliding and one young man’s drive to find the comfort of home, in every pot, wherever he may be.
It sounds like a wonderful movie, and it’s from the award-winning director of Chocolat! I’ve read stories about the “back of the house” like Kitchen Confidential and this production is something I’m really looking forward to! It has all the elements that makes for a great food related movie, and if you’re interested in cuisine, eating, and theater, you’ll love this production.
Watch the trailer here! Life’s greatest journey begins with the first step. #The100FootJourneyMY
The Hundred-Foot Journey will be released in theaters on August 28, 2014. For more information, visit http://100footjourneymovie.com. Like the official Facebook page and follow their official Twitter account to interact!
Contest:
Why do you want to watch The Hundred-Foot Journey? Comment on the blog post below and the best answer will win a pair of tickets in season pass to the movie! Please include your email address in your comment (make sure you fill in the Email bit) so I can get in touch with you! 🙂
