How The Hundred-Foot Journey Inspired Me to Really Cook

Photo credit: DreamWorks Pictures’ THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY

I was recently invited to attend an early screening of the newest Dreamworks movie The Hundred-Foot Journey. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and you can read my review here. But just reviewing the movie didn’t seem like enough to me. You see, the movie really challenged me to re-think the way I have been approaching cooking lately. I love easy scratch recipes and delicious comfort food, but lately I have been rushing things. I have lost my love for cooking. It seems to have turned into a chore that I must repeat daily, which often leads to monotonous meals and dull dinners.

Watching Hassan cook in the movie was truly inspiring for me. The love with which his character approached food, the insistence on the best ingredients, the use of natural foods, fresh vegetables, and savory spices left me feeling like I needed to reassess my own menu. I had also forgotten the connection that we have with food. Not unhealthy connections and addictions, but connections that bind us together around family holiday meals and backyard barbecues. One of my favorite quotes from the movie is “Every bite takes you home.” Wow, that really resonated with me. My mom is a great cook and she learned a lot from her mother-in-law, my grandma, who was a southern cook. Southern meals and comfort food remind me of growing up. Fried tomatoes and cobbler bring me right back to Grandma’s house in Tennessee. What made the food so memorable?  It wasn’t just the taste, but the love that was put into the cooking. The fresh ingredients and a combination of effort and know-how made even the simplest meal special.

The beautiful imagery in The Hundred-Foot Journey not only inspired me to start cooking like I know I can, it also inspired me to try new flavors and learn new things. Hassan was a master at creating Indian cuisine, but he was not afraid to take on French cooking. The result was a unique flavor that everyone enjoyed.

Do I expect to wow my family with amazing meals every single night? I wish!  But I am a realist and I know that means that nice dinners at home are not always possible. But I do plan to try to do better, to make meals my family will love. I want to create positive food memories and recipes that my children will want to recreate when they cook for their families. I want to use more spices and fresh ingredients. I want to do more. And so I shall.

Photo credit: DreamWorks Pictures’  THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY