After beefing up for his role in American Sniper, Bradley Cooper and his costar Sienna Miller both headed straight into the kitchen for Burnt, in which Cooper plays a disgraced chef trying to recapture his Michelin-starred glory days.

BurntBradley Cooper is a chef trying to recapture his Michelin Star in 'Burnt'

Not only was it a chance to come down from the physical intensity of American Sniper, but it took him back to his childhood while learning some useful new skills. "When I was a kid I would screw up cooking with my grandmother," he laughs. "It was an Italian family, so cooking was a huge part of it. Being around food is very soothing to me. My grandfather had a garlic business. So basically I'd been doing research since I was a kid!"

Before making Burnt, Cooper didn't think of himself as much of a cook, so he consulted celebrity chefs to prepare for the role. "I had access to Marco Pierre White, Marcus Wareing, Gordon Ramsay and Clare Smyth. These are all Michelin-starred chefs," he says. "I actually learned how much I can't cook by doing this film. You sit through one session with Clare Smyth and you realise this is a level of execution that's world-class. To get three Michelin stars is literally almost impossible. The level of perfection, discipline and sacrifice is incredible."

More: Watch the 'Burnt' Teaser Trailer

These chefs inspired his portrayal of the film's character Adam Jones. "I created a guy I see as a mixture of the three guys I studied: Marcus Wareing, Gordon Ramsey and Marco Pierre White," Cooper says. "He's a combination. Little things he does, physical things, are basically things I stole from all three of those guys. It wasn't conscious, but going back and watching the movie I see it."

Up next, Cooper will reteam with Jennifer Lawrence for a fourth time in the biopic Joy, after Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle and Serena. But he says that their romantic chemistry is on-screen only. "It just didn't happen," he told radio host Howard Stern when asked about a backstage romance. "It's not the way we are together."

Listen to clips from the interview below: