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There’s an unspoken truth: food almost always looks better on screen. Maybe it’s the colour grading, the filters, or even the fact that it’s animated, but somehow, it just hits different. One could argue the same applies to the people behind the food: the fictional chefs.
Whether it’s their personalities or their tattoos, it’s their sheer passion that brings them to life. You watch as they push themselves to the edge—losing sleep, sacrificing relationships—all in pursuit of a dish, a dream, a purpose. They don’t just serve food; they serve their soul.
In the words of Ego, the infamous critic from Ratatouille: “Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.” So let’s meet the artists behind the screen who live only in our minds, but feel more real than ever.
Carmen Bearzatto (The Bear)
Throughout The Bear, Carmy faces his highs, his lows, and moments he’s completely stuck, sometimes literally. A tortured artist through and through, it’s his unrelenting drive to create something remarkable that both fuels and fractures him. In a way, he begins to resemble the very monster he once ran from.
Jang Bong-Hwan (Mr Queen)
Passion transcends the bounds of time, reality and evidently-body switching, as portrayed by Jang Bong-Hwan, who turns food into his weapon when finding himself in the body of a Joseon Queen. However, it was in those scenes where he cooked up a storm in the kitchen, bringing the dishes into the lives of the people from yesteryears, that his eyes lit up, that he was truly in his element.
Antonin Carême (Carême)
Inspired by the life of the world’s first celebrity chef, Carême explores the glitzy and glamorous life of a culinary icon, drawing viewers into the shadows behind his fame. Charismatic and brilliant, even with only one episode out, viewers can’t help but be drawn to his celebrity.
Monica Gellar (Friends)
A lover of cooking and all things food at heart, Monica Geller treated food as a love language. Feeding those around her was how she showed she cared, and her kitchen and dining room became the go-to gathering spots. From hosting every Thanksgiving to perfecting every detail, she turned both food and herself into the glue of her chosen family.
Remy (Ratatouille)
A watercolour memory that raised an entire generation, this little chef proved that passion for food knows no bounds. So enamoured by his craft, Remy risked everything, again and again, just to be in the kitchen.
The moment he sent Linguini and his family away and spent the night alone by the water, after preparing the meal of a lifetime, he immortalised himself in food history, becoming a symbol of emotion-driven cooking.
Gabriel (Emily In Paris)
Experimental and enthusiastic, Gabriel put his restaurant above everything else. His dream of a Michelin Star made him a driven perfectionist, which, while helping him reach his goal, also left him indecisive in other aspects of life (if you know, you know).
Carl Casper (The Chef)
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Sometimes, having everything ripped away is exactly what you need. That’s certainly true for Carl Casper, who rediscovers his love for food and cooking. Out of the sleek, high-tech kitchen and into a modest food truck, he rebuilds both his relationships and his passion, one dish at a time.
Sookie St. James (Gilmore Girls)
From the moment she first appeared on screen, one thing was clear about Chef Sookie: when it came to food, she had a one-track mind. Whether chasing a new recipe or obsessing over garnishes, her passion made her burst with both energy and anxiety, but always with love at the centre of it all.
Chef Slowik (The Menu)
It’s often said that great passion can drive a person mad, and that’s certainly the case with Chef Slowik. Once a bright-eyed line cook, he eventually grows to loathe both his art and the people he believes corrupted it. And while it’s true he burned it all down (literally), his passion was never in question.
Though they walk different paths, exist in different times, genres, and realities, these chefs are all tied together by something even more powerful: food. And isn’t that why you’re here?