For those who know me, you understand I love to eat and cook. For those who don’t, you just learned a new fun fact about me – cooking (and eating) is honestly a passion of mine. Granted, I pair that with a decent amount of working out so that way I can eat whatever I want, but it’s worth it when I’m able to enjoy that slice of pizza guilt-free or sip on a milkshake without worries.
Another passion of mine is movies and TV, as you can expect, and those go well together with food, especially with cooking scenes, moments featured around cooking, or anything else. Today, we’ll be going over my top favorite cooking scenes in film and television – or just dishes that look absolutely divine.
The Cuban Sandwiches (Chef)
Chef is an underrated movie for many reasons, but it was especially underrated for how good its food looks. The Cuban Sandwiches that Carl begins to make towards the middle of the movie are really the most delicious thing I have ever seen—and I would know because I made them as well, and yes, they are so good.
The Beef Wellington In Any Hell’s Kitchen Season (Hell’s Kitchen)
As someone who loves any Gordon Ramsay cooking show, I think Hell’s Kitchen is the one that’s been around the longest. And what have you seen them cook time and time again, over and over? That Beef Wellington, wrapped in puff pastry, surrounded by all kinds of goodness, and that red meat – gosh, I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.
The Last Of Us Made Me Want To Try Rabbit (The Last Of Us)
I love The Last of Us. Not only is it my favorite video game of all time, but it’s also one of my favorite video game adaptations. That third episode with Bill and Frank broke me into a million pieces, but you want to know what it also did? Bill somehow made rabbit look appetizing to me when he cooked it—and now, I’m really curious to try it.
Literally Any Scene With Chocolate (Wonka)
I’m going to miss getting into details with this one. While I picked Wonka specifically, any of the Willy Wonka adaptations would work. I gain ten pounds just watching this chocolatier make the treat, let alone eat it.
Any Food Scene In Any Studio Ghibli Movie
As someone who loves anime, my favorite part is the fantastic Studio Ghibli movies. In any of them, there is always—and I mean always—a cooking scene. But in every Ghibli film, he always finds a way to make food look so ridiculously good that I’m jealous I’m not in the movie. The food is so appetizing that there’s a cookbook based on it.
Flanders Hot Cocoa That Looks Absolutely Divine (The Simpsons Movie)
As someone who just spent a decent amount of time rewatching the first ten seasons of The Simpsons, I recently saw The Simpsons Movie again. And man, that hot cocoa that Flanders leaves out for Bart lives in my head rent-free. He creates it without skipping a beat and topping it off with chocolate shavings. My friend, please do that for me.
When Remy Makes The Ratatouille (Ratatouille)
I love Ratatouille so much and believe it’s underrated in terms of Pixar film status. I have to point out the titular dish that the rat, Remy, makes. Whether it’s because of Ego’s reaction to the food or the careful way in which Remy and the others assemble the cooked pieces of vegetables, it’s a beautiful cooking scene.
That Mushroom Pasta That’s Served At The Family Dinner (The Super Mario Bros. Movie)
While we don’t physically see Mario’s family cook the mushroom pasta, we do see it served, and yes, this is another example of something I had to recreate. It’s a relatively simple meal: sauteed mushrooms with pasta, but if you add a little bit of spice, cheese, wine, and love—boom, you get this masterpiece.
I’m a massive fan of the best horror movies out there, but The Menu has snuck up and become an underdog favorite of mine—mainly because I’ve occasionally enjoyed a night of fine dining. But the last meal, that cheeseburger with crinkle-cut fries that Chef Slowik served to Margot, made me want a cheeseburger so badly. Look at it; just look at it.
Marcus’ Chocolate Cake (The Bear)
The Bear cast features an extensive number of characters that I truly love more than most TV shows nowadays, and Marcus has snuck in and become a clear favorite of mine. One of my most-loved parts about him is in Season 1, where he spends so much time trying to perfect this chocolate cake, and it seriously makes me want to make a cake of my own—which I did end up doing because I have no self-control.
Those Scallion Noodles (Everything Everywhere All At Once)
The Academy Award-winning, Everything Everywhere All At Once is known for more than just its bagel. It also has scallion noodles, at least in the very beginning. What looks like a simple dish is actually delicate Asian cuisine that takes a certain amount of pizzazz to get just right, but once it’s done, these are the best noodles you will ever have in your life.
The Krabby Patties Because Obviously (Spongebob)
I’m a young woman; I grew up watching Spongebob Squarepants, so let’s be honest here – you knew I was going to put this on this list. Come on. I’m pretty sure any time we saw Spongebob make these patties, we would salivate at the mouth to try them.
Julieta Making Her Literal Healing Arepas (Encanto)
Encanto is a great Disney movie, and the arepas that Mirabel’s mother, Julieta, makes look so good. They’re so good that they literally heal people. If you can make an arepa that somehow heals wounds and more, you have captured my interest – even if it can’t do the same in real life.
The Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (The Devil Wears Prada)
As someone who loves The Devil Wears Prada cast and adores the movie as a whole, I will openly say that I hated Nate’s character. But what I didn’t hate was that he was a chef who also spent his nights making some of the best-looking grilled cheese sandwiches for Andy. And yes, now I seriously crave something to eat.
The Tamales Coco’s Family Makes (Coco)
There are so many amazing Pixar films out there, but Coco has always been my favorite. However, something that I did forget about the movie for a while is that his family spends a decent amount of time crafting tamales, a very traditional Mexican dish that has been passed down from generation to generation. And truthfully, watching them make the dish made me want to try it so badly.
Anytime Garfield Gets To Eat Cooked Lasagna (Garfield: The Movie)
I have to get Garfield on this list somehow. Garfield: The Movie is probably the best example, but any time Garfield gets to eat lasagna, I’m always jealous. Lasagna isn’t even my favorite pasta dish, but somehow, this orange furball always finds a way for me to crave it by the time the movie ends.
When The Chef Makes The Spaghetti (The Lady And The Tramp)
What is arguably one of the most romantic scenes in any Disney movie ever, we see Lady and Tramp share a plate of spaghetti after watching the chef at an Italian restaurant make it from the window. When I tell you that I have never craved spaghetti and meatballs more than after watching this film, I mean it. It looks so good.
That Boursin Cheese Omelet (The Bear)
The Bear has so many dishes that I would gladly eat or make in a heartbeat, but I have to point out this omelet from Season 2 of the show. Sydney makes it for Sugar, and the dish itself is relatively easy to make but takes a certain amount of skill to pull off. Yes, I have remade it, and yes, I am salivating just thinking about those potato chips on top.
The Crazy Amount Of Pastries (Marie Antoinette)
While Marie Antoinette is not the most historically accurate portrayal of the famous queen of France, I will say that the amount of pastries we see in that movie is godlike. I feel like seeing her eat them makes me gain twenty pounds—and also makes me want to go to a French bakery.
The Classic Beef Bourguignon (Julie & Julia)
What makes Julie & Julie such a good movie is that it’s actually based on a real-life culinary legend, so you know that the food in it is going to be spectacular. One of my favorite scenes from the film involves when they make the classic beef bourguignon, a stew where meat simmers for hours and is absolutely delicious by the time it is done. Ugh, I want to make it just thinking about it.
Kevin Cooks His Own Macaroni & Cheese (Home Alone)
You know, sometimes you need to get the boxed mac and cheese and call it a day, and that’s exactly what Kevin did in Home Alone. While we could go on for hours about how the burglar’s injuries were super serious, I’m going to instead focus on how amazing that boxed macaroni and cheese looks that Kevin puts in the microwave. That feels like comfort on a plate.
Carl Makes Aglio E Olio (Chef)
Aglio e Olio is actually one of the simplest pasta dishes you can make, and it’s cooked to perfection in Chef. The dish itself is easy on the surface level but takes a certain amount of skill to pull off and achieve culinary perfection, and this scene perfectly captures it. Heck, I’d be waiting patiently, like Scarlett Johansson‘s character, too, for that meal.
Monica’s Candy That She Makes For The Neighbors (Friends)
Monica made some of the most delicious-looking food throughout Friends, but do you want to know the one dish that I have always wondered about? That homemade candy had neighbors coming directly to her door. It seemed like a nice favor at first, but eventually, it got so popular that she had to stop making it. What was in that candy that made it so good? I’m so curious. Give me all your secrets.
That Classic Breakfast With Steak And Eggs (Twister)
You can’t get better than this breakfast. While Twister isn’t known for its cooking scenes, when we see steak and egg breakfast cooking, it’ll make you want to make your own. I did precisely that after watching it for the first time.
Remy’s Reinvented Potato Leek Soup (Ratatouille)
There are so many delicious meals in Ratatouille that I could devour in a heartbeat, but Remy made the potato leek soup look so good. Alfredo nearly messes it up, but Remy secretly pulls it all together in the end and makes this delectable-looking masterpiece that makes me jealous that I’m not there in the kitchen with them.
That Steaming New York City Pizza Delivery (Home Alone 2)
Okay, so Kevin doesn’t actually make the pizza, but I have to put this on the list mainly because my mother and I still quote the scene where Kevin gets the pizza in Home Alone 2. It’s steaming and is right out of the box, and it looks like something that I would absolutely devour in two seconds flat.
A Chinese Christmas (A Christmas Story)
While we don’t see them physically cook the Chinese, we do see the family of four receive a Chinese feast on Christmas Day when their dinner doesn’t exactly pan out as planned. Featuring hilarious moments (some of which haven’t aged super gracefully, but oh well), this scene captures the joy and craziness of Christmas—and makes me really want Chinese.
Any Time Iroh Made Green Tea (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
I can’t tell you how many times we’ve seen Uncle Iroh and all his wisdom in Avatar: The Last Airbender makes tea. I started drinking tea because of how good he made it look in every scene that he brewed. I even have a Jasmine Dragon mug now! I am fully on that Avatar train, no matter what.
The Reveal Of That Timpano (Big Night)
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked at that Timpano in Big Night and wondered how the heck that thing even exists. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to try it. Look at it. Just look at this giant plate of food; God, my stomach is grumbling.
Ross’s Moist Maker Sandwich Because How Good Is It? (Friends)
No, because seriously, how good would this moist maker sandwich be if Ross basically got suspended from his job because of it? As someone who has had excellent Thanksgiving dinners and less than-great ones as well, that sandwich that Monica makes makes me so curious as to how good it tastes.
Every Pie That’s Baked (Waitress)
It’s pie. How can you not want pie? Every pie that’s baked in Waitress makes me want to make my apple pie no matter what time of year it is, and yes, I am going to go and bake one right now just thinking of it.
Tiana’s Gumbo (The Princess And The Frog)
Tiana is one of the best Disney princesses and it’s because she knows all these excellent life skills and has an unbreakable spirit. One thing that she’s amazingly good at is cooking and baking, and while I could point out her beignets, I have to give praise to her gumbo because, good lord, it looks so good.
Gumbo honestly takes a lot of skill to properly make (as someone who has tried and failed), so I give her all the praise for somehow making it as a child.
Okay, I think I need to revisit my cookbooks again because now I’m hungry. Time to cook!