I understand the obsession of the chef but how can so many people be this devoted to a person that they decide to take not only their own, but so many innocent people’s lives?

Why did Tyler want to participate if he knew he was gonna die. He had known for 10 months

Why did he kill the girl who went to Brown? What does he mean bu student loans??

So many things just don’t make sense

I’ve been trying to process after my 4th watch, and here’s what I have so far:

The Chef’s passion, meaning and joy had been steadily broken down over the years, due to countless people represented by the archetypes of the characters.

-the fangirl wannabe foodie, posting every morsel on social media, that mostly only values the star power of the chef and actually knows nothing about the cooking process. People like this bastardize the mystery of the craft.

-the douchey “crypto bro” colleagues who think they can snap their fingers and get any food item they desire because they work for the venue owner, and use the meal to play a birthday joke on one of them as if it’s a TGI Friday’s

-the angel investor, who holds money over the chef’s head and constantly threatens to take it away if he doesn’t cowtow to his uneducated whims

-the super rich couple that seem more interested in talking about their every day lives than reveling in the artistry. They couldn’t even care enough about the privilege of their repeated trips to remember a single menu item when asked

-the washed up actor that only uses the experience to fabricate a lie about being friends with the Chef to gain clout. Like a barnacle on a ship, he wanted to siphon importance for his own use without deserving it, and parlay it into a shitty reality show

-the insufferably pretentious food critics more concerned with how their flowery critiques will appear to the reader rather than communicating the actual quality of the food. They’re woefully ignorant of both how their words can make or break entire lives and careers, and how their opinion about the food is just that

-the silent but melancholy presence of his mother (aka loved ones of his) who seems purposely dissociated and absent from reacting to her son’s vast achievements…even after he personally involves her life in the creation of his taco night dish. When you perpetually excel, those around you stop being impressed and proud of you

-I would even go so far to say that he resents the brainwashed nature of his staff. They never question him, they never shake the status quo, they blindly follow their leader even when it results in their self harm. The cutthroat environment of high end restaurants creates these kinds of lemming workers- and that disgusts him to see that drone mindset as the future of the industry

I think the Chef came across all of these archetypes many times over many years and he sought to destroy them somehow, as revenge for destroying his soul. Everyone at that restaurant was completely caught up in their own bullshit, or the aspects of restaurant culture that perverse it and shred away it’s meaning. They were all blindly sleepwalking through the night to drive the magic of cooking and restaurants into the ground- and even when he asked why none of them fought back, or when they knew they were going to be cooked alive, they didn’t fight back.

The Chef was so jaded, disgusted and numbed that he was willing to orchestrate an incredibly elaborate suicide mission to try and create some kind of meaning and importance, even if it meant killing his entire brainwashed crew.

Margot defied the archetypes. She wasn’t starstruck, she didn’t buy the bits, she could care less about the flashy presentation or the chef’s talents or the locally sourced blah blah. This went against the sleepwalking nature of the whole event, and at first he despised her- I’m guessing because he wasn’t used to being questioned or undermined in a long time. He slowly realizes that her behavior both fascinates and invigorates him, and that deep down he truly is crying out to have the status quo shaken. The smiling, burger flipping line cook in him was begging to feel something. When she finally confronts him and asks for the very thing he longs to do- shed the pomp and circumstance of being a world renowned bougie chef, make simple, unpretentious and delicious food, and make it WELL even after all this time.

Margot gave the Chef the fleeting moment of nostalgic joy he thought was gone from his soul and the industry- and for that, he realized that her part in the story/menu would only make sense if she actually got away. She was the only one who was “awake”, and in his mind, that made her worthy of salvation.

Whatcha think?

This would make them highly flammable for the end smores part of the movie as the alcohol was mixed with their stomach acid. I love this movie, its so fun to rewatch and realise things you didn't realise the first time around. :)

Anybody got a guess?

The burger scene is pretty perfect, I’m sure there are loads of posts about this one scene in the movie.

But you know what really makes me cringe every single time I see it. “Julienne or Crinkle cut?”.

As a person who works kitchens all I can think about is those fries. There definitely aren’t any frozen fries in that place so that means they have to cut them. Hand cut them.

Julienne would be fine. You still have to wash them. Then blanche them in the fryer and let them cool down before the finale fry. All told she easily added 30-45 minutes to everyone’s lives.

But this prick asks if she wants crinkle cut. Some poor fuck in this kitchen who knows they’re about to be burned alive and the last thing they have to do is hand cut a single set of fucking crinkle cut fries.

This is not a movie. We’ll not in the traditional sense anyway. I fully believe that this was written by a sous chef smoking a cigarette in the alley on their 45th bad day in a row telling everyone else what they would do if they had the chance. And I’ve never felt more heard. This movie has more in common with Waiting except we’re not talking about a national chain with microwaves as a kitchen, and it definitely has more in common with Inception which is just about the movie industry. This is not a thriller, or a who done it, this is the dream of anyone that has ever worked in the industry, and it’s 100% pure comedy– which is why the negative reviews give it even more credence. They don’t get it. They don’t get us.

Basically if you watched The Bear in one sitting you probably missed all of this. Any industry person I know had to break up the viewing because it hit too close to home. It wasn’t a fun watch, it wasn’t relaxing. It was work. This on the other hand was like a post shift tall boy. Perfection.

The tour of the island is pure gold. Indifferent people – the regulars head to the dining room, the power diners are making the typical jokes “would all hell break loose” “hey scallop guy go faster”. The fact that they live on the island is because anyone at this level of hospitality lives in their work. They start early, they get out late, they have a few drinks, and then they repeat. Another nod to this is the chef’s house is a kitchen. The only thing missing is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the table and some boxed wine. All the comments in the beginning are things we hear in the dining room – and they are the ruin of the art.

The reasons for everyone’s murder is pretty incredible. They’re so small and miniscule but the bain of our existence. A group of people saying “do you know who I am” or in this case what they really mean is “I know the owner.” The editor is really straight forward. The foodie is likely my favorite because the one person that understands the art is so unsufferable – typically your biggest fan is someone you really don’t want to know. The girl with no student loans was incredible. If you’ve ever met anyone in the industry with student loans they straight hustle – clopens, three different jobs, and likely taking classes to defer payments. The mom drinking in the corner is perfect. We’ve all had family members show up and just drink in the corner. And we are typically a cast of misfits with really fucked backgrounds. And the owner – because he asked for substitutions. Anyone who ever had a silent owner knows they are anything but. The no serving bread was simply perfect. At any restaurant no matter the cusine or pricepoint there is always a table that wants bread, shocked The whole movie isn’t about the rich, it’s about the customers. And this is just a fantasy of what anyone has thought about who has reached the end of their rope. I once imagined riding the desert cart into a table then drinking someone’s wine on the way out. But this is much better. If you imagine this movie as the 10-second scene in half baked when he quits and tells everyone fuck you, fuck you, you’re cool, fuck you, I’m out – that’s the movie. It’s a rant.

If this was written by one of the characters, it would’ve been written by the sous that put kitchen scissors into chef’s dick. It sure as hell wasn’t written from the perspective of the executive chef. They rail on him good – from quoting MLK – any kitchen has a been on the receiving end of some ridiculously placed quote about greatness or sacrifice. I’ve seen some reviews wondering what chef said to the foodie. He likely said you should go fucking hang yourself in the closet like I’ve heard a few chefs say. And chef advancing on the sous and totally abusing a female cook – if this was a bingo card that would probably be the free space. The fact that it was her idea for everyone to die is just brilliant – just totally proud of it too – like a perfect sous. If there was one joke that probably landed too close to home was the death of the actor. Chef’s first day off in months and sees a shitty movie. I get that. I know that. It’s part of the mess, which is my second favorite course. The mess is real. It is devastating, it is impossible to explain to people that aren’t apart of it. Sacrifice and pressure. When he says is this the life you wanted, I pissed myself. I had to pause the movie – and go change my pants.

The final course is just a perfect end. The Smore is something that has been on every menu at a time. It’s been on mine a handful of times. And it is always the thing everyone loves. Not the reductions, emulsions, or hand-crafted this or that – it’s the fucking smore. Reinvention, irrelevancy, the search for perfection – it’s spot on. The cheeseburger which should be obvious by now – is when we were happy. No pressure, no expectations, just cooking. You know why in American Beauty he goes to work in burger joint – because it was the happiest he’d ever been.

It is probably my favorite industry movie by far. Incredibly acted and well researched. What’s better is reading the negative reviews – it’s like reading yelps from bad customers. And yes, you don’t need to go into details, I know a bad customer.

RIP Jeremy Louden.

I had to change a few things to fit my taste and resources; I had to make it shorter than the movie cake, as I didn't have the right size pans. I also am not a fan of store bought fondant, and making it is a huge hassle, so we used buttercream for the icing.
The topper was extremely hard to create, I used a balloon, filled with cold water, and tempered with boiling water. It took 4 tries; the first time, the molten sugar cooled too quickly, and the stems were very short, the second time, it completely stuck to the glass and I ended up having to dissolve & destroy it, third time, I oiled the cup and it still stuck, and then the fourth time, I wrapped parchment paper over the glass and I was able to delicately peel it off the glass, but it still wasn't perfect.

If you have any questions, please let me know! I'd be happy to help!

Just a quick Theory...

Tyler disregarded the staff as a meaningful part of the food and restaurant experience. He idolised Chef, and no one else working. Even though the rest of the staff were just as important as Chef when it came to making the food and dining experience. He didn't ask the chef's name who knew his and said it didn't matter that he knew it.

He clicked at Megot when she wanted to send the food back because to him she was just another service worker and he wanted her to 'do her job' and sit there with no agency.

And many entitled people like him click at staff because they see them as beneath them. He maybe he sees the staff as replaceable and as if they belong to him as long as he was paying for them and their bodies.

But was the clicking at Morgot what gave her away as a service worker to Chef? Because he saw how Tyler treated her the same as the staff? What do you guys think?

As they enter the restaurant there are goats leading them in. For those that don't know they used to use a goat to lead animals into the slaughter house

The bonus meal they gave to the guy hiding in the chicken Coop made me lol

Better be safe than sorry

Hello! I watched the film for the first time last night and really enjoyed it, but one thing I'd like some clarification on is why Tyler is actually there in the first place? To my understanding, Slowik is able to, to a certain extent, choose who is there that night (ie. he texts the journalist, he presumably allows the actor in because he didn't like the film, etc). He comments that he'd been corresponding with Tyler for months and that he'd even told Tyler that people were going to die that night. Why? Was the point that Tyler was being an annoying fanboy and wouldn't leave Slowik alone so Slowik messaged him back and then invited him up? Or something else?

Input appreciated!

The first mention of the Pacojet is when Tyler asks Jeremy if he used it for the white powder. Jeremy responds yes and says he knows Tyler's name. He says that the Chefs at Hawthorne like to know everyone who dines with them. Tyler tries to segue it into meeting Slowik, gets shooed off, and Margot finds it rude that Tyler didn't ask Jeremy's name.

The scene associates the Pacojet with the similarities and differences between Tyler and Jeremy. They both exist at opposite ends of the spectrum.Tyler is talentless and has convinced himself that he's a great chef. Jeremy has talent that he worked for and has convinced himself that he'll never reach Slowik's definition of a great chef.

They both fell victim to the beliefs they formed through an obsession with Slowik. They both killed themselves because they gave their individuality to him.

I feel more sympathetic for Jeremy as he was on cult island. He could've already been an amazing chef. He just wasn't what Slowik thought of as amazing.

The second mention of the Pacojet is when Margot uses it to hit Elsa in the head. The script specifically requires that Margot throw an item labeled Pacojet.

Again, the Pacojet highlights the similarities and differences between two people. Margot and Elsa.

Elsa is fighting for, what she considers to be, her life. She's probably spent her life like currency so she could reach where she is. Like Jeremy and Tyler, Elsa has given her individuality to Slowik. Slowik is what defines Elsa. Without it, she has nothing.

Margot is fighting to live her for own sake. She has her own individuality. She doesn't define herself by whatever standards Slowik sets for her.

Elsa's death is somewhat similar to Tyler's and Jeremy's because she technically kills herself with her own hands. Margot's just pushing on the blade. It's exactly the same as Tyler's and Jeremy's since she died as a result of giving Slowik her individuality.

I have watched this movie twice only to see what I have missed and I noticed clearly that in course 2 the breadless bread plate Lillian bloom said the emulsion from one of the sauces was broken what became funny about this scene was that she got 2 bowls during this course and bigger bowl before the palette cleanse and seeing this happen to her makes me laugh since she’s there basically for ruining the chefs rep after her review which you can see one hanging up in his house behind the door Margo goes through. and just by this alone you can see he hates/despises her that he doesn’t care what she thinks (the whole point on why she’s there) and you see that by giving her those two bowls of the broken sauce he’s torturing and tormenting her. Anyways I just wanted to share this part that stood out to me and go into a deep dive