13 Cooking Movies To Enjoy On a Rainy Afternoon
Whether there is a rainy day in the forecast, or you're just in the mood to snuggle up and enjoy a feel-good movie, we've found some of the best cooking movies on Netflix, YouTube, and Disney+ to enjoy on a relaxing day spent inside.
Chef (2014)
Released in 2014, Chef is one of those movies that will have you really rooting for the main character to succeed. Chef Carl Casper abruptly leaves his job at a fancy LA restaurant when his creative integrity is overridden by his controlling boss.
Without a plan of what he will do next, Carl makes the move to Miami to open up a food truck with his ex-wife and son. This is a feel-good movie with a little touch of drama and lots of laughs.
Ratatouille (2007)
Ratatouille is the most quintessential kid-friendly cartoon movie about cooking that the whole family will enjoy. It centers around Remy, a young and determined rat whose dream is to be a famous chef.
After he makes his way into one of Paris' finest restaurants, a chain of ridiculous, silly events ensue. If you haven't had the privilege of watching this Disney Pixar movie, you and the kids are really in for a treat.
A Tale of Two Kitchens (2019)
Though this doc is only 29 minutes long, it's definitely a cooking movie worth checking out. It follows 2 Mexican restaurants, both owned and operated by chef Gabriela Cámara, and documents their personal experience working in the kitchen, interacting with customers, and cooking tasty food.
If you're not particularly interested in the cooking movies that feature a lot of stressful kitchens, yelling, and overall tension, this short will be a great departure from the norm.
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
While Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory isn't really a cooking movie, it's very much centered around food and candy, and the moral conundrums that lead 5 kids through numerous carnival-style rooms.
Willy Wonka is a true classic that's a perfect movie to return to over and over again, and is one you should definitely introduce to your kids if you haven't already.
Eat, Pray, Love (2010)
Based on the New York Times bestseller by the same name, Eat Pray Love follows one woman's trip through Italy, India, and Indonesia and she works to learn more about herself after her divorce.
This is another feel-good movie that features a variety of different sceneries and lots of local cuisines that will make you want to get into the kitchen and get cooking.
The Trip (2011)
Here's a cooking movie that's in the same comedic style as Curb Your Enthusiasm. It follows friends Steve and Rob as they set off on a culinary adventure around the Northern region of England.
Steve is commissioned to review some of the finest restaurants in the area, and Rob tags along after Steve's girlfriend backs out last minute. It's a heartwarming, funny tale about food, friends, and travel.
Tortilla Soup (2001)
In this family-oriented cooking movie, we're introduced to a former chef and his 3 daughters who live with him. Though he's losing his sense of taste, Martin continues to cook for his daughters, and the only rule is they have to be home Sunday night for dinner.
This is a feel-good movie that will make you want to call your dad and chat with him for a few hours.
Julie & Julia (2009)
Focusing on two separate stories and timelines, Julie & Julia follows acclaimed chef Julia Child at the beginning of her culinary career, and Julie, a New Yorker who's set a goal to cook all 524 recipes from Julia Child's cookbook.
Though the two never actually cross paths, Julie's life is forever changed when she embarks on her cooking journey.
Cooked (2016)
Okay, okay this is technically a documentary series, not a movie, but it explores the history of the human experience of cooking through 3 different elements: fire, water, and air.
It takes a deeper look at a lot of the daily cooking techniques that we don't even think twice about, providing the viewer with a new perspective on their experience in the kitchen.
Barbecue (2017)
When you think of those long summer days spent outside in the sun, you probably think about barbecued foods, too. And this documentary is all about just that.
This documentary follows the barbecue cooking method and all the ways it has been adapted through culture and time, and how the act of cooking meat over fire just might signify the start of the human race.
What we love about this documentary is that it's about more than just cooking. It explores all of the cultural and social aspects of barbecuing that you might not think about when you're grilling up burgers and hot dogs on the 4th of July.
Forks Over Knives (2011)
Forks Over Knives explores the popularity of processed foods and what it's doing to us as a society in terms of our health and well-being. This documentary makes the case for eating a plant-based diet to improve both our health and our overall impact on the environment.
Again, this isn't necessarily a cooking movie, but it does explore how our lives could change if we started making healthier choices in the kitchen.
Mostly Martha (2001)
This German rom-com style cooking movie centers around chef Martha Klein and her orderly, work-centric life that becomes altered forever when she becomes the caregiver for her 8-year old niece. After feeling overwhelmed, she reluctantly brings in some help to run the restaurant and starts a tumultuous relationship with an Italian chef named Mario.
This movie would be a good option for an at-home date night. Especially if you cook something restaurant-inspired to go along with it!
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs (2009)
And we'll finish off this list with another cooking movie for the kids. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs takes place in Swallow Falls, where all they can afford to eat is sardines. The movie starts fairly bleak, with everyone reluctantly eating bland, boring food.
That is until a failed inventor, Flint Lockwood, comes up with a machine that converts water into food, and colorful, tasty treats start falling from the sky. Things go wrong, however, when the machine goes out of control to the point where life as they know it is at stake.