Opening this Friday, BURNT is the new foodie movie starring starring Hollywood man of the moment Bradley Cooper as chef extraordinaire Adam who, after suffering a spectacular (but unspecified) downfall thanks to his addictive personality, heads to London to regain his reputation and try to achieve the pinnacle of professional cooking, the elusive 3rd Michelin Star.
The film is a glossy look at fine dining, big egos and the catastrophic effects both personal and professional of being too good, too soon. It is far more serious than last years fantastically charming and more relatable ‘Chef’ – this film deals with the egotism of chefs in a far more grand dramatic fashion. Similarly to Billy Elliot – which was conceived about a child fighting stereotypes in the eighties before they decided his pastime would be ballet – ‘Burnt’ could have been made about painters or choreographers or anyone creative who exists in the tiny bubble of brilliance at the top of their game, and suffers for it. The fact that its about drool-worthy food, and the food is absolutely exceptional to look at, doesn’t hurt either. We left the cinema and had dinner… Again.
Cooper himself grew up in the food business; his grandfather ran a garlic business whilst Cooper worked his way through local Greek and Italian restaurants. To make a convincing world renowned chef, the Hangover star did months of research, gaining access not only to some of the World’s best (and scariest) chefs – take a bow, Marcus Wareing – but roughing it up in the fast food industry too, creating a sensation when he showed up behind the counter at Burger King in London’s Leicester Square to serve burgers to hungry and subsequently delighted customers.
Interview by AJ O’Neill
BURNT is at cinemas from Friday November 6th