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'The Bear' (2022- ) -

The award-winning series follows a chef at the best-ranked restaurant in the world, who leaves his job to take over his deceased brother's sandwich shop in Chicago. It's one of the most stressful and hilarious portrayals of life in a restaurant.

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'The Bear' (2022- ) -

In season three, the pressure intensifies for Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) as he tries to balance his relentless drive to elevate the restaurant with the cutthroat realities of the Chicago food scene. Tensions simmer within the kitchen and relationships are tested as the crew navigates personal challenges and professional growth.

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'Big Night' (1996) -

This movie tells the story of two Italians, a chef and a businessman, who travel to the US in the 1950s with a mission to open a restaurant, offering two sides and motivations within the competitive business.

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'Big Night' (1996) - And indeed a rival Italian restaurant is out-competing them, so they end up betting everything on a new menu of incredibly inventive food in order to stay in business. The film was co-written and co-directed by known foodie Stanley Tucci, who also stars as one of the brothers alongside Tony Shalhoub.

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'Chef!' (1993-1996) -

This BBC sitcom stars Lenny Henry as Gareth Blackstock, the chef de cuisine at a two Michelin-starred French restaurant called Le Château Anglais, who says right at the beginning of the show: “I'm Gareth Blackstock. I am seriously unpleasant. I am a [ ],” so you can see where it's going!

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'Chef!' (1993-1996) -

Gareth Blackstock, like the blueprint for Gordon Ramsay's later fame, was a top chef berating incompetent workers who actually has a genuine passion and a sweet heart deep, deep down.

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'The Hundred-Foot Journey' (2014) -

Helen Mirren stars as Madame Mallory, the owner of a previously unchallenged fine-dining restaurant in France who paid the utmost attention to every detail of a dish. Then her world turned upside down when Papa Kadam (Om Puri) and his family decided to open an Indian restaurant in town.

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'The Hundred-Foot Journey' (2014) -

Sitting directly across the street from Madame Mallory's spot, Kadam's new restaurant challenged and changed her for the best as he simply intended to promote Indian cuisine in France alongside his son Hassan (Manish Dayal) in their family business.

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'Burnt' (2015) -

Similar to 'The Bear,' this film stars Bradley Cooper as a chef who previously worked in the most highly-praised restaurants, except he had a history of drug abuse that hurt his career. After getting clean, he tries to return as a chef at a two-star Michelin restaurant with the aim of getting a third star.

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'Burnt' (2015) -

Not only does the film give insight into the world of attaining a Michelin star, it also shows a little of the complex relationships that form and the different leadership styles that exist within the kitchen.

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'Boiling Point' (2021) -

If you're looking for the heat, it's in this stressful, fast-paced, fictional kitchen. Chef Andy Jones (Stephen Graham) finds out that on the busiest night of the year at one of the hottest restaurants in London, where a food critic, a celebrity chef, and a couple who planned their marriage proposal all reserved a seat, there is indeed a lot more that can go wrong than overbooking.

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'Boiling Point' (2021) -

Multiple personal and professional crises threaten to destroy his career, along with a surprise visit from a health and safety inspector, tensions between management and crew, and demanding customers. It's addictively chaotic, much like a real restaurant kitchen.

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'Uncorked' (2020) -

Netflix's original drama follows the pressures of a family business as Louis (Courtney B. Vance, pictured) runs a Memphis barbecue restaurant where his entire family worked, except not everyone wanted to be there.

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'Uncorked' (2020) -

Louis's son Elijah (Mamoudou Athie, pictured) doesn't share the same passion, but instead wants to be a master sommelier—bringing in a whole other side to the world of the restaurant business, and a clash of cultures.

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'No Reservations' (2007) - Catherine Zeta-Jones plays a top chef whose life changes, and whose perfectionist side struggles, when she becomes the guardian of her late sister's daughter.

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'No Reservations' (2007) - What's more, Aaron Eckhart plays a high-spirited chef who threatens to take over her kitchen with his freewheeling ways. It's a romantic twist on the enemies-to-lovers trope, which is quite common in the kitchen world—or at least just the enemies part!

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'Chef' (2014) -

Jon Favreau wrote, directed, and starred in this highly successful film, which follows Chef Carl Casper, who leaves his job at a popular restaurant and attempts to start fresh by operating a food truck.

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'Chef' (2014) -

Beyond the iconic food scenes, this film shows a newer side of the restaurant industry—leaving restaurants behind for trucks—and also follows the relationship that grows between Casper and his son, highlighting the work-life balance that many chefs feel they must sacrifice.

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'Dinner Rush' (2001) -

All of the aspirations and stresses of the restaurant business are packed into one night in this film, which follows Louis Cropa (Danny Aiello), who is trying to turn his family-owned restaurant into one of the most famous places to visit in TriBeCa, NYC, with the help of his son.

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'Dinner Rush' (2001) -

Anyone who has worked in a restaurant knows what a dinner rush can feel like at its best and its worst, and this film adds on top of that a gambling sous-chef, run-ins with organized crime, and familial pressures.

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'Ratatouille' (2007) - The only animated film to make it on this list is of course about a food-loving rat (Patton Oswalt), who helps an aspiring cook (Lou Romano) fake his way to success in a Parisian restaurant.

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'Ratatouille' (2007) - The stress of working in a kitchen, the threat of critics, the beauty of creating a fine dish, and the introduction into French cuisine all come together for a deeply optimistic view of working in a restaurant.

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'Today's Special' (2009) -

This film stars Aasif Mandvi (center) as an ambitious chef in New York who aspires to become a master chef in Paris, but who is forced to return to his parents' Indian restaurant when his estranged father has a heart attack.

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'Today's Special' (2009) -

His father (Naseeruddin Shah, pictured) is a taxi driver without a fancy chef background, and yet he teaches his son how to combine flavors in a way that moves people beyond what he was able to achieve after all that studying. It's a great reminder that sometimes the most innovative food is not in Michelin-starred restaurants, but rather tucked away in a corner of Queens and recommended through word-of-mouth.

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'Waiting…' (2005) -

Certainly the grossest exaggeration of working in a restaurant, this film starring Ryan Reynolds and Justin Long spotlights the dysfunctional found family that forms within many restaurants, as well as what it's like both in the front and back of house.

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'Waiting…' (2005) -

Unfortunately, there really are instances where young workers in a restaurant will get back at rude customers, and this film does a great job at revealing restaurant codes by breaking all of them...

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'Kitchen Confidential' (2005) -

Running only for one season, this show is based on Anthony Bourdain's famous memoir about working in the kitchens of top restaurants. It follows Jack (Bradley Cooper), who works in a pizza chain and has only two days to staff his kitchen and impress over 300 customers.

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'Kitchen Confidential' (2005) -

Much like Cooper's role in 'Burnt,' Jack was once addicted to alcohol and drugs and is given the opportunity to run Nolita and make a career comeback. The late Bourdain (pictured) also had a substance abuse issue, but the show takes a much lighter approach in sitcom form.

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'Mystic Pizza' (1988) -

Honorable mention goes out to 'Mystic Pizza,' which is a coming-of-age rom-com that follows three young pizza parlor employees in a Connecticut town.

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'Mystic Pizza' (1988) -

The film, which jump-started the career of Julia Roberts, captures the lives of three young women as the restaurant plays a key, though passing, role in their growing up.

Sources: (Collider) (Insider)

See also: Foods made famous by TV, books, and movies

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