Tuesday, August 21, 2007

"Anyone can cook"


I spent a nice afternoon with lunch and a movie with my priest-brothers.

The Plot

Remy (the protagonist) is a rat, constantly risking life in an expensive French restaurant because of his love of good food, as well as a desire to become a chef. Yet, obviously, this is a rather tough dream for a rat. But opportunity knocks when a young boy—Alfredo Linguini (the deuteragonist)—who desperately needs to keep his job at the restaurant, despite his lack of cooking abilities, discovers and partners the young Remy. It’s up to the two of them to avoid the insane head chef, bring the rest of Remy's family up to his standards, win his partner a girl, and, of course, produce the finest Ratatouille in all of France.

A thought-provoking quote

“In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto: Anyone can cook. But I realize that only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau's, who is, in this critic's opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau's soon, hungry for more.” – The antagonist, food critic Anton Ego
What is "ratatouille"?

Ratatouille is a tasty French Provençal dish made from stewed vegetables. The dish is versatile and can be served with rice, potatoes, French bread or itself can be a side dish.

Its main basic ingredients consist of tomatoes, onions and zucchinis.

The name of the dish appears to derive from the French touiller, "to stir", although the root of the first element "rata" is slang from the French Army meaning "chunky stew".

BTW

I had spaghetti with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes with a thick garlic sauce for lunch.

View trailer at:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382932/trailers-screenplay-E33581-10-2

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4 Comments:

Blogger marylua said...

Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto: Anyone can cook. But I realize that only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau's, who is, in this critic's opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau's soon, hungry for more.”

p gonzales.

encuentro una gran ensenanza, solo que esta hablando como jesus de una forma dificil de entender por la potencia tan profunda del mensaje...

apto solo para aquellos que tienen la gracia del entendimiento..
o que tal vez al igual que usted entienden la voz de su alma..

esto es lo que yo entiendo:

cada situacion me conduce a penzar en el creador y en la criatura.
en lo que habeces deberiamos de hacer pero la verdad es que no todos tenemos la gracia o hemos sido llamados para experimentar o tener cierta capacidad,
gracia, don, llamado, mission,
o como se le quiera llamar..

yo, no entendia porque no todos entienden y aman lo que usted entiende y ama...
porque es tan dificil entender?
por que son tan poquitos?
pero creo que encontre la razon y el porque?
que dios nos conceda solo ser lo que tenemos que ser y dar.
solo lo que tenemos que dar...
ser de el y darlo a el.
pertenecerle solo a el. asi sea.
gracias por la ensenanza.
mary

9:06 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Must you go on about what you had for lunch, young man? I had a lowfat yogurt and a brisk walk.....

thanks for the heads up on the movie. Sounds like a fun one!

12:38 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ah, a dinner idea. Even better, a dinner idea when least expected.

Love the post!

And, I love ratatouille!

4:57 PM  
Blogger Richard said...

I have noticed recently how dumbed down the English language has gotten in dialog at movies, so I was pleased with the great command of the English language with which Anton Ego's quote was written.

4:47 PM  

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