Chef movie dishes up food, marketing and life lessons

Hot on the heels of Perth’s Food Truck Rumble, Chef the movie performs the neat trick of being on trend, educational, and thoroughly entertaining while a providing commentary about social media and the important things in life. Here are some of the things we pondered after the movie.

Thanks to StudioCanal

High profile chef Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) has been cooking great food for years, and that’s the problem. The passion has gone. He’s reached that point we all face eventually, when he wants to step out of his comfort zone and experiment.

Thanks to Studio Canal

In steps restaurant owner Riva (Dustin Hoffman) who wants him to stick to the same tried and true menu he’s been producing for the past 10 years, otherwise … there’s the door.

After an overnight introduction to social media by his ten year old son Percy (Emjay Anthony), Casper enters into a delicious online stoush with food reviewer (Oliver Platt). Consequently he’s soon walking through the door into the world of unemployment.

Thanks to the help of his ex-wife Inez (Sofia Vergara), her ex-husband Marvin (Robert Downey Jr), colleagues from the restaurant (John Leguizamo and Scarlett Johansson) and most importantly his son, he’s soon following his passion and launching into the food truck business.

While a few elements of the story may not ring true (e.g. a young boy working in a food truck and a very abrupt ending), it’s a simple story that’s been cleverly married with current trends and aided by a sound track that defies keeping still in your seat.

More importantly it leaves you pondering several things …

Restaurant reviewers and fellow bloggers will get a conscience tap.
So too will anyone who’s ever approached a celebrity for a photo. When Casper is subject to a barrage of selfies, the scene provides a timely reminder of the patience required by the subject of desire.
The rules of social media cannot be learnt in one night, especially the difference between public versus private tweets. I must admit that when I sent a tweet the next morning I triple checked to make sure it was private before pushing share.
While having your message go rival is a legitimate ‘any publicity is good publicity’ strategy I wouldn’t recommend it for long term brand strength. As the movie shows social media can be an untamed beast.
Sometimes your rivals can turn out to be your best advocates and give you the best advice.
I also pondered why some of the many great actors were happy to take on such small roles. Perhaps the media culture comments rang true for them. Perhaps they’ve longed to give it back to a critic or photograph hound.
You will also leave knowing how to make the best toasted cheese sandwich and maybe pondering if this was how Elvis liked it.

Behind the scenes