Chef is a 2014 American road comedy-drama film directed, written, co-produced by, and starring Jon Favreau as a chef who, after a public altercation with a food critic, loses his job at a popular Los Angeles restaurant and begins to operate a food truck with his young son. It co-stars Sofía Vergara, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale, and Dustin Hoffman, along with Robert Downey Jr. in a cameo role.
Favreau wrote the script after directing several big-budget films, wanting to go "back to basics" and to create a film about cooking. Food truck owner and chef Roy Choi served as a co-producer and oversaw the menus and food prepared for the film. Principal photography took place in July 2013 in Los Angeles, Miami, Austin and New Orleans.
Chef premiered at South by Southwest on March 7, 2014, and was released theatrically on May 9, 2014, by Open Road Films. It was well received by critics, who praised the direction, music, writing, story, and performances, and grossed $46 million against a production budget of $11 million.
Plot
Miami-born Carl Casper is the head chef of Gauloises in Brentwood, Los Angeles. While popular with his kitchen staff and hostess Molly, Carl clashes with the restaurant's owner, Riva, who wants him to stick to classical cuisine rather than innovative dishes. Carl also has a strained relationship with his rich ex-wife, Inez, and their tech-savvy preteen son, Percy.
When Carl has the chance to serve prestigious food critic and blogger Ramsey Michel, Riva demands he prepare old favorites at the last minute; Carl concedes, leading to a scathing review. Carl insults Ramsey on Twitter, not realizing that his reply is public, and gains a large online following. Carl comes up with a new menu that his staff loves and invites Ramsey to a "rematch", but leaves after confronting Riva, who wants the old menu again.
At home, Carl prepares the menu he wanted, while his sous-chef Tony serves Ramsey the same dishes from his prior visit. Ramsey tweets negatively about Carl, provoking Carl into confronting him at the restaurant. Videos of Carl's meltdown go viral, leaving him humiliated and unemployable.
Carl reluctantly accepts Inez's invitation to accompany her and Percy to Miami, where he rediscovers his love for Cuban cuisine. At Inez's encouragement, her ex-husband Marvin offers Carl a dilapidated food truck. Carl and Percy bond while restoring the truck and buying groceries, and Carl gives him a chef's knife. Martin, Carl's friend and former line cook, turns down his promotion at Gauloise to join Carl, who has reignited his passion as a chef.
Carl, Martin, and Percy drive the truck across the country to Los Angeles, serving Cuban sandwiches and yuca fries. Percy promotes them on social media, and they find success in New Orleans and Austin, where their daily specials include po' boys, beignets and barbecued brisket, made with local ingredients.
Back in Los Angeles, having strengthened his relationship with Percy, Carl accepts his son's offer to help with the food truck, with Inez also joining them. Ramsey visits the truck to explain his bad review: though an early fan of Carl, he was disappointed by a meal he felt was beneath Carl's skills. Impressed with the chef's return to form, Ramsey offers to bankroll a new restaurant where Carl will have full creative control. Six months later, the successful new restaurant is closed for Carl and Inez's remarriage ceremony.
Cast
Jon Favreau as Carl Casper
Emjay Anthony as Percy Casper
John Leguizamo as Martin
Sofía Vergara as Inez Casper
Bobby Cannavale as Tony
Scarlett Johansson as Molly
Oliver Platt as Ramsey Michel
Dustin Hoffman as Riva
Amy Sedaris as Jen
Robert Downey Jr. as Marvin
Russell Peters as Miami Cop
Musician Gary Clark Jr., Franklin Barbecue owner Aaron Franklin and general manager Benji Jacob cameo appearance as themselves.
Production
Development
Jon Favreau, the writer, director and star of Chef, wrote the film's script in about two weeks. He had long wanted to make a film about food and chefs, and felt that the subject was suited to a small-scale independent film rather than a big-budget production. He cited Jiro Dreams of Sushi, Eat Drink Man Woman and Big Night as inspirations for creating a food-centric film.