I've worked in plenty of restaurants, but always in the front of the house. None of them were spectacular places by any means but it always struck me, for as much as I love and am so inspired by movies revolving around fabulous food and misunderstood chefs and that scrappy restaurant that could, I have absolutely no interest to be in the back of the house. It's funny though because people always tell me "Oh you should've been a chef" or "Do you ever think about opening a place." No and no and absolutely no regrets or what-ifs. And it makes me wonder if those people telling me these things have ever even stepped foot in the back of a restaurant. Maybe that's the general thought, by everyone who has never been "hey mami'd" 20 times a night (and usually worse) or was screamed bloody murder at for being 5 minutes late dropping off a plate... that it's just like in the movies.
Loving to cook is only one tiny piece of the puzzle that makes up a good chef, much less a great one. It's not pretty and by no means glamorous. And it was never the lifestyle for me. Even running to the dry pantry to grab supplies or to pick up food being expedited, I knew I was not meant for that back of the house world. But I love watching the pretty, Hollywood-ness on film. It may not be my calling in life and I may know from the start that it's far from reality, but I can content myself with film. And something about watching these movies, seeing these passions play out, well that's inspiration enough. So it got me thinking about my most inspiring food movies. Here are a few:
