On a quiet Friday night (May 9) ‘Chef’ is the main course as it hits cinemas in New York and L.A. John Favreu’s passion project sees him play a disgruntled chef that branches out from the security of menu cooking to street food following a very public shaming.

ChefJon Favreau plays Carl Casper, a chef with bigger ideas

It’s been hailed as a triumphant return to filmmaking for a director/actor who very publically left the Marvel machine. ‘Chef’ has been warmly received by the critics, culminating in an 87% score on Rotten Tomatoes, but with one warning: don’t watch this film when hungry!

“I’m intrigued by food culture. It’s fascinating to me that chefs are like the new rock stars and people will watch hours and hours of television shows with food that they’ll never taste; they’re so intrigued by the specificity of the preparation and what the vision of each chef is. And I just felt that there hadn’t been a movie that showed that world yet,” said Favreau of his new movie to Examiner.

“Buoyed by a Latin-flavored score and Favreau's knack for improv inspiration, Chef is the perfect antidote to Hollywood junk food. Like the best meals and movies, this irresistible concoction feels good for the soul,” writes Peter Travers for Rolling Stone. “Favreau is flat-out terrific. Warm, dimensional and intuitive, his Carl proves an ideal combo of top dog and underdog - as well as a thoroughly credible kitchen master,” notes Gary Goldstein of The L.A Times. 

‘Chef’ isn’t just worth watching because there’s not much of note being released alongside it – everything else hitting cinemas is on a limited basis. All the ingredients – the beautifully shot food, the framework of an underdog story, the solid script and the masterful performances from an all-star cast – make for the perfect Friday feast.

Watch the trailer for 'Chef' here