A toast to seafood’s role in the movies. |
Movies have a universal appeal, as does seafood. And, when the two come together we get some of the most memorable foodie moments in popular culture. Whether seafood makes a friendly appearance as a scrumptious dish on dinner tables in the movies or plays a pivotal role in the movies’ narratives, it makes an emotional connect with us and motivates us to try recreating some of those yummy seafood dishes in our own kitchens.
In this post, we’ll look at some such magical seafood-movie-moments that are etched in our collective imagination.
1. Forrest Gump
In this Oscar-winner from 1994, shrimp plays an important role in the story. When Forrest meets Benjamin Buford Blue, better known as Bubba, in the Army bus, Bubba tells him that he wants to get in the ‘shrimpin’ business’ after the war because his momma, her momma, and her momma’s momma all cooked shrimp, and asks Forrest to become his partner in the business. Although Bubba gets killed in the Vietnam war, Forrest goes ahead and starts the shrimping business after he is discharged from the army. Later on, after having faced some hurdles initially, when the shrimping business becomes a success he gives Bubba’s share to Bubba’s mother.
In 1994, a cookbook called The Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Cookbook was released, which, as the name suggests, featured over 70 shrimp recipes to celebrate the movie and shrimp’s role in it. The movie also inspired a restaurant chain called Bubba Gump Shrimp Company which serves shrimp and seafood dishes.
Bubba Blue, “And, hey, Forrest: All the shrimp you can eat.”
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2. Julie and Julia
The movie tells two parallel stories, that of Julia Child, the American chef, television personality and culinary author, and of Julie Powell, who took on the challenge of cooking 524 of Julia Child’s recipes in 365 days. A movie where food plays a central role would not be complete without an appearance by seafood, and so, a little into the movie, we have a scene where while lunching with her husband Paul at a restaurant in Rouen, France, Julia tastes the sole meunière and is impressed beyond words by the dish.
3. The Hundred-‐Foot Journey
In Dreamwork’s 2014 foodie movie, The Hundred-Foot Journey, the story revolves around the rivalry between a French Michelin-starred restaurant and an Indian restaurant in a picturesque village in France. Needless to say that the movie has on display some of the most delicious-looking food ever seen on the big screen. And, of course, the scene that caught our attention and that of many viewers worldwide was the one with a fish on a huge platter with colourful veggies. It simply makes you want to dig a fork into the fish and take a bite.
A fish feast! |
4. Burnt
This Bradley Cooper starrer from 2015 is a movie about a chef and his pursuit of a third Michelin star. Being a perfectionist, the chef, in one of the scenes, loses his cool when a fish is not cooked correctly, he actually makes his sous chef apologise to the fish (food)! Well, we don’t recommend you follow his example, in fact, we recommend that you be creative when it comes to cooking seafood even if you get it wrong once in a while.
Seafood can be as much fun to cook as it is to eat. |
5. Big Night
Big Night is a food movie from the 90s that went on to enjoy a cult status. The movie centres around two Italian brothers, who own and run a restaurant called Paradise on the New Jersey Shore. One of the brothers is a chef and the other manages the restaurant’s affairs. In one of the scenes in the movie, they serve a rich and delectable looking seafood risotto to one of the patrons at the restaurant. This dish should definitely be on your list the next time you indulge in some Italian cuisine.
Seafood Risotto: A must-try dish. |
6. No Reservations
Another heart-warming movie on food is No Reservations. The movie features a scrumptious ‘scallops in saffron sauce’ dish that will inspire you to experiment with flavours when it comes to cooking seafood.
A culinary extravaganza. |
7. The Trip
In the first instalment of The Trip series, starring comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, the two lead characters drive across North England sampling the food that various restaurants in this region serve. As you might’ve guessed from the description, we get to see some divine food through the course of the movie which, of course, includes plenty of seafood!
A treat to just to see such variety of seafood!
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8. The Trip to Italy
In The Trip to Italy, Coogan and Brydon drive through Italy this time around, visiting the best restaurants and tasting the finest food and wine that the country has to offer. The movie features more than one delectable seafood dish: calamari, seafood linguine, seafood salad, and pasta with rockfish. The scenery and the seafood that we come across in this movie are simply breathtaking.
Seriously, this makes us consider taking a seafood road trip across India!
A ‘seafood trip’ worth taking |
9. Mostly Martha
This is the German movie on which the Hollywood movie, No Reservations, was based. Seafood plays a noteworthy role in this movie too. To quote Chef Martha,”One knows a good chef by the quality of his simplest dishes. Take, for instance, salmon in a light basil sauce. Most people think it’s no big deal and put it on the menu. But frying or steaming a salmon just right and putting the right amount of salt and spices in the sauce is very difficult. In this recipe, there’s nothing to distract you. No design. No exotic ingredient. There’s only the fish. And the sauce. The fish and the sauce.”
Fish cooking tip: Keep it simple. Cook it Right. |
10. Bridesmaids
In this seriously funny movie, the protagonist Annie moves back in with her mother when she loses her job and is evicted from her apartment. From then on, things pretty much go downhill for her till she pulls herself together and gives us a happy ending. At one point, when she has hit rock bottom, her mother makes a tuna sandwich for her for breakfast to comfort her. Try it the next time you are in the mood for some feel-good food!
“I’ll fix you a tuna fish sandwich” |
We love our seafood and we love our movies, so we would be really happy to hear from you about your favourite seafood movie moments. Do share them with us.
– The Fishvish Team
Image Credit: Cover
Image Credit: Forrest Gump
Video Credit: Julie and Julia
Image Credit: The Hundred Foot Journey
Image Credit: Burnt
Image Credit: Big Night
Image Credit: No Reservations
Image Credit: The Trip
Image Credit: The Trip to Italy
Image Credit: Mostly Martha
Image Credit: Bridesmaids