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The Rewatchables ·

Chef

year 2014decade 10sdirector Jon Favreaugenre Comedygenre Drama
host Bill Simmonshost Dave Changproducer Craig Horlbeck
All 30 categories

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award · 1:03:23

One participant demands Chef 2

Bill Simmons: Chef 2 is pitched with the kid grown up, a newly struggling Carl, and a return of the original crew.

Dave Chang: The competing take is that the remarriage collapses forty-eight hours after the restaurant wedding.

The film

Chef (2014)

Directed by Jon Favreau · Comedy

114 minutes

IMDb Letterboxd JustWatch Find on Rotten Tomatoes
Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Jon Favreau Carl Casper
Oliver Platt Ramsey Michel

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

17:54

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

A prequel about Carl Casper becoming a nationally known Miami chef

A prequel about Carl Casper becoming a nationally known Miami chef

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:17:54Read transcript
  • If made in 2023, the story would probably become an eight-episode series with separate Miami, New Orleans, and Austin installments. — Bill Simmons
  • The participants prefer its under-two-hour movie form and think the current cut may already be about five minutes long. — Bill Simmons
  • A prequel about a younger Carl would explain how he became nationally prominent in early-2000s Miami. — Dave Chang
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26:38

Most Rewatchable Scene

Many scenes are nominated; the concluding personal choices are the pasta, critic confrontation, grilled cheese, and F...

Many scenes are nominated; the concluding personal choices are the pasta, critic confrontation, grilled cheese, and Franklin Barbecue sequences, with the critic confrontation called the best pure scene.

In the discussion (16)
Approx. transcript time · 00:26:38Read transcript
  • The opening preparation and farmers-market sequence establishes that Carl is a credible working chef. — Bill Simmons
  • Riva and Carl arguing over creative risk, sweetbreads, equipment, and playing the hits accurately captures an owner-chef conflict. — Bill Simmons
  • Carl reading the critic’s two-star review to the staff turns increasingly brutal, especially the attack on his lava cake and weight. — Bill Simmons
  • The review scene resonates with the experience of waiting for a career-defining restaurant review and being gutted by a bad one. — Dave Chang
  • The anonymous-critic setup is dramatized for the audience even though American restaurants would not normally receive advance notice. — Dave Chang
  • The second Riva confrontation makes ownership literal through the glasses, napkins, spoons, and payroll before Carl quits. — Bill Simmons
  • Carl preparing a revenge menu and confronting the critic turns the molten-chocolate technique into an angry defense of the staff’s work. — Dave Chang
  • Robert Downey Jr.’s brief food-truck negotiation is praised as concentrated arrogant comic energy. — Bill Simmons
  • Buying his son a chef’s knife becomes a ritual: this is your knife, take care of it. — Bill Simmons
  • Cleaning the truck and rejecting the burnt sandwich both become lessons in standards and communication between father and son. — Bill Simmons
  • The South Beach launch and later travel montage show the truck’s success and the growing family relationship. — Bill Simmons
  • The critic says he will back Carl’s new restaurant, a turn one participant calls a great twist but also unrealistic. — Bill Simmons
  • The pasta cooked after service is a plausible, simple cook’s meal and one participant’s favorite. — Dave Chang
  • The grilled-cheese scene is promoted into the rewatchable list because food technique carries the father-son relationship. — Bill Simmons
  • Franklin Barbecue is chosen because the location and food preserve the pleasure of a real visit. — Bill Simmons
  • The critic confrontation is called the best pure scene because its anger builds and continues longer than expected. — Bill Simmons
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45:19

What’s Aged the Best?

The child performance, kitchen authenticity, Leguizamo, criticism and social media, Gary Clark Jr., New Orleans, rest...

The child performance, kitchen authenticity, Leguizamo, criticism and social media, Gary Clark Jr., New Orleans, restaurant PR, Los Angeles detail, cornstarch, soundtrack, and creator-critic dynamic

In the discussion (16)
Approx. transcript time · 00:45:19Read transcript
  • The child actor carries comic, emotional, and ensemble weight across many scenes without breaking the movie. — Bill Simmons
  • Kitchen movement, tension, technique, and banter remain authentic even where 2013 plating has dated. — Dave Chang
  • John Leguizamo gives the participant’s favorite version of his screen persona and embodies loyalty to the chef. — Dave Chang
  • Bobby Cannavale’s less-loyal sous chef is disputed because a real version might be more hungover, disengaged, and resented. — Dave Chang
  • “Digital palette” is praised as a perfect blogger-site name for the period. — Bill Simmons
  • The movie accurately preserves a period when a hostile critic could become a defining chef antagonist. — Bill Simmons
  • Gary Clark Jr. appears naturally in the Austin setting without dialogue calling attention to his cameo. — Bill Simmons
  • Carl calling himself a meme while his kid teaches him social media captures an early stage of adult Twitter literacy. — Dave Chang
  • The New Orleans beignet stop is praised as a rare tourist attraction that locals also value. — Bill Simmons
  • The PR pitch to turn a humiliating event into Hell’s Kitchen content feels professionally accurate. — Bill Simmons
  • The Brentwood restaurant, likely Pasadena market, and Los Angeles neighborhoods give the movie specific local texture. — Bill Simmons
  • The owner battling with a chef is called a timeless conflict. — Bill Simmons
  • Cornstarch in restaurant bathrooms is confirmed as a commonplace line-cook response to extreme kitchen heat. — Dave Chang
  • The Latin jazz, New Orleans jazz, blues, and Gary Clark Jr. tracks change with the cities and make the movie pleasant to inhabit. — Dave Chang
  • The marionette skeleton sequence may operate as a metaphor for Carl, although the participants leave its meaning unresolved. — Dave Chang
  • The critic saying Carl was one of his early discoveries captures how critics can feel ownership over artists they promoted. — Dave Chang
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57:02

The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot

The shot of the meat at Franklin Barbecue

The shot of the meat at Franklin Barbecue

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:57:02Read transcript
  • The Franklin Barbecue meat is selected even though the image is described as amazing rather than formally artistic. — Bill Simmons
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58:20

What’s Aged the Worst?

Early on-screen Twitter graphics, Tosh.0 references, and the restaurant’s dated food presentation

Early on-screen Twitter graphics, Tosh.0 references, and the restaurant’s dated food presentation

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:58:20Read transcript
  • The early Twitter graphics are difficult to read even though their primitive quality fits the era. — Bill Simmons
  • The “Tosh Point O” reference now feels tied to a vanished television moment. — Bill Simmons
  • The critic menu of period dishes visibly belongs to its era and does not fully support Carl’s reputation. — Dave Chang
  • The supposedly famous menu of caviar, scallops, French onion soup, veal, and lava cake does not fully support Carl’s reputation. — Dave Chang
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1:01:16

Is There a Better Title for This Movie?

Burnt

Burnt

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:16Read transcript
  • Burnt is proposed as the alternate title. — Bill Simmons
  • Sony reportedly cleared Chef first, forcing the other food movie written by Steven Knight to adopt Burnt. — Bill Simmons
  • Chef is preferred because its food and kitchen work are far more realistic than Burnt. — Dave Chang
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1:03:23

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

One participant demands Chef 2; the other predicts the reunited marriage collapses within forty-eight hours.

One participant demands Chef 2; the other predicts the reunited marriage collapses within forty-eight hours.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:23Read transcript
  • Chef 2 is pitched with the kid grown up, a newly struggling Carl, and a return of the original crew. — Bill Simmons
  • The competing take is that the remarriage collapses forty-eight hours after the restaurant wedding. — Dave Chang
  • The imagined El Hefe collapse includes food-safety trouble, lawsuits, and the return of Molly as a love interest. — Dave Chang
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1:05:00

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

No clear selection

No clear selection

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:00Read transcript
  • The panel initially says there is no obvious overacting choice. — Bill Simmons
  • Favreau’s visible emotion during the one-second video and the son drop-off becomes the only proposed candidate. — Bill Simmons
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1:05:44

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

Russell Peters as the police officer

Russell Peters as the police officer

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:44Read transcript
  • Russell Peters is identified as the police officer and receives the That Guy choice. — Bill Simmons
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1:05:58

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Amy Sedaris; Robert Downey Jr.

Amy Sedaris; Robert Downey Jr.

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:58Read transcript
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1:09:54

Apex Mountain

Chefs, food critics, 2014 Twitter, Cubanos, and Hell’s Kitchen

Chefs, food critics, 2014 Twitter, Cubanos, and Hell’s Kitchen

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:54Read transcript
  • The celebrity-chef culture represented by 2014 is declared peak chef time. — Bill Simmons
  • Favreau is rejected because Iron Man gave him greater direct control and cultural power. — Bill Simmons
  • Twitter in 2014 is treated as a final fun and optimistic period before later political toxicity. — Bill Simmons
  • Food critics receive a definite apex verdict, perhaps two years before the film. — Bill Simmons
  • Cubanos receive both an apex and criminally underrated judgment. — Dave Chang
  • Sofía Vergara is placed near but slightly after her Modern Family awards peak. — Bill Simmons
  • Hell’s Kitchen receives a current apex case because children still watch it heavily online. — Bill Simmons
  • South Beach is rejected for food in 2014 but receives a sports-and-nightlife case; post-pandemic Miami is preferred for food. — Bill Simmons
  • Beignets are called underrated rather than apex. — Bill Simmons
  • Roy Choi’s movie-era power is compared with the broader audience reached later by The Chef Show. — Dave Chang
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1:17:57

Is This Movie Better With…?

Danny Trejo

Danny Trejo

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:17:57Read transcript
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1:18:47

Just One Oscar

Dustin Hoffman and John Leguizamo: Supporting Actor

Dustin Hoffman and John Leguizamo: Supporting Actor

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:18:47Read transcript
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1:21:54

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

Dave Chang’s production-only Chef coin; the food truck

Dave Chang’s production-only Chef coin; the food truck

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:54Read transcript
  • Favreau gave Dave Chang a Chef coin after showing him the movie for notes before release. — Dave Chang
  • The coin was reportedly issued only to people in the production, giving the participant an actual memorabilia item. — Dave Chang
  • The Cubanos food truck is the other choice. — Bill Simmons
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1:22:37

The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson

Cornstarch, doing what you love, and betting on yourself

Cornstarch, doing what you love, and betting on yourself

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:22:37Read transcript
  • Cornstarch is the comic practical life lesson. — Bill Simmons
  • Doing what you love is drawn from Carl choosing meaningful work over the professionally safe route. — Bill Simmons
  • The food truck becomes a literal bet on yourself because it offers a chef control and freedom. — Dave Chang
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1:23:40

Who Won the Movie?

Jon Favreau

Jon Favreau

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:23:40Read transcript
  • The first winner response is Favreau. — Dave Chang
  • The second participant agrees without question. — Dave Chang
  • Roy Choi, Cubanos, Franklin Barbecue, and the movie’s happy ending receive broader winner recognition. — Dave Chang
Podcast choices
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Jon Favreau
Speaker not identified
Jon Favreau
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