I Like It Like That: Favreau’s “Chef” offers food, music, heart

As the film opens, the Wild Magnolias’ version of “Iko Iko/Brother John” is slowly pumping up the volume while the camera zooms in on close-ups of a chef’s hands expertly dicing up fennel fronds, zesting lemons, seasoning pots, and slicing up juicy fruit sections.  It’s mouth watering and it’s funky and you know something tasty is getting ready to happen in “Chef” (2014).

Chef Carl Kasper (played by writer and director Jon Favreau) was once the darling of the LA restaurant scene. All he cares about is his kitchen and as a result he has stopped paying attention to the people who need him the most. While he thinks he still has it but over time he has lost his mojo. His dedication to his craft has cost him his marriage and a growing chasm between him and his young son Percy (a winning performance by Emjay Anthony). Despite all that, he desperately wants to break through and show the culinary world what he really has to offer.

(SPOILER ALERT) His kitchen crew is behind him and when an influential food blogger is slated to come review his food, Chef Kasper is psyched once again to strut his stuff. Unfortunately his boss (Dustin Hoffman) quashes his ambition and tells him that he’s been successful and thinks that, like an audience that’s paid to hear the Rolling Stones, he should “stick with his hits.” While elegant, that food doesn’t go over well, and earns a limp review. When Kasper tries to use Twitter to communicate with the blogger it backfires spectacularly and he becomes an Internet joke.  Trying to save face he invites the same critic to come back again for the food he really wants to cook and his Twitter war creates a huge buzz, but once again he is stopped. His boss threatens to fire him if he doesn’t stick to the menu.  Kasper quits and the staff serves the same identical menu once again to the critic.

With no job and cut adrift Carl Kasper is just trying to keep his head above water. His hostess and sometime girlfriend played by Scarlett Johansson tells him that he is not happy and needs to leave and find his way back to his son. Fortunately, his ex-wife, in a nuanced performance by Sofia Vergara, persuades him to return to Miami with her and Percy, and where he got his start. She wants him to accept the offer of a food truck from her ex-husband Robert Downey Jr. in an offbeat and hysterical cameo. The film now shifts to being a road picture with Favreau and Percy joined by his line cook played with joyful camaraderie by John Leguizamo. They take to the road, from South Beach to New Orleans, to Austin, and back to Los Angeles, living out of their ‘El Jefe’ food truck, making Cuban sandwiches and helping Carl to recover his passion, his best self, and in the process discover how to become a better father to his son.

As solemn as those themes sound, this is a light-hearted film, full of wicked humor, and fun as the three traveling chefs win over their clientele. Ten-year old Percy amazes the two adults with his mastery of social media promoting their food and capturing their road trip in video. The soundtrack is a wonderful gumbo of Salsa, Cuban New Orleans funk, Jamaican Reggae and Rock Steady, Bronx Boogaloo, Texas Blues, and classic Soul, seamlessly blending music and cooking and helping define the culture of each spot.

It is hard not to be incredibly hungry watching them buy fresh beignets right out of the fryer from the Café Du Monde in New Orleans, or when son Percy works the Plancha on the truck, grilling those Cubanos, or sampling the one-of-a-kind brisket from Aaron Franklin (playing himself) at his always sold out restaurant/shack in Austin.  All the while soulful, hip sounds surround them. The film ends back in Los Angeles where the success of Chef Kasper’s food truck leads to greater successes and more importantly leads him back to himself and his family. Sure it’s a little schmaltzy but like a well-made Cubano, it’s good to the last bite.

At first glance, one might wonder how a character like Chef Kasper, overweight and given to moodiness, was able to land not just Sofia Vergara but Scarlett Johansson too; that he was ‘hitting way above his weight class.’ But celebrity chefs know that in the world of sex and sensuality attraction can be as much a matter of taste and smell as anything physical. The scene where Favreau cooks pasta for the Johansson character illustrates that perfectly.

(END SPOILER ALERT) Favreau employed Chef Roy Choi, the O.G. of the modern the food truck craze, as his technical consultant.  Choi sent Favreau first to French cooking school to learn knife skills and then had him work on his taco trucks. There is a real authenticity and naturalism to the cooking, to the relationships and language inside a restaurant and between chefs, and a reverence for what it means to be great at what you do. Not unlike filmmaking, cooking depends upon not skimping on any of the fine details. The film is a labor of love. Its script is well crafted and the expert casting delivers across the board, most of who, despite being huge stars, worked for scale.

Food, music, humor, friendships; these are all things that transcend boundaries and languages, and define cultures. Chef satisfies our appetites with what’s important. So turn up the volume and let’s eat!

Music on this feature by Pete Rodriguez, “I Like It Like That” and Tempo & the Candela All Stars, “Mi Swing Es Tropical.”

music clips from Pete Rodriguez, Tempo & The Candela All Stars, dialogue clip