Film

Burnt

Name: Burnt
Genre: Drama
Released: 2015
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Omar Sy, Daniel Brühl, Riccardo Scamarcio

Bradley Cooper plays a self-destructive genius chef clawing back toward three Michelin stars, and the film is basically a boxing movie with knives instead of gloves — screaming kitchens, slow-motion plating, a hero who has to get out of his own way. It's glossy, tense, occasionally ridiculous, and built for anyone who wants professional cooking filmed like war.

TMDb rating

6.5

If you liked this

Boiling Point2021

Shot in a single unbroken take, this British kitchen thriller gives you the same pressure-cooker service night as Burnt but stripped of the redemption arc's comfort — just raw, real-time chaos.

But No release valve, no triumphant plating shot at the end — it just keeps tightening until it stops.

The Menu2022

A satire on chef-worship and fine dining that takes Adam Jones's God-complex to its logical, murderous extreme, with Ralph Fiennes as the culinary tyrant this film only flirts with becoming.

But It's a black comedy with teeth — if you wanted sincerity rather than a takedown, this will feel mean.

Chef2014

Jon Favreau's food-truck comeback story is Burnt's warmer, sunnier cousin — same washed-up-chef premise, none of the screaming, all of the joy of cooking something simple and good.

But Low stakes and food-truck cheerfulness might feel thin after Burnt's Michelin-star intensity.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Babette's Feast1987

Same question as Burnt — can cooking redeem a person? — answered through humility and grace instead of ego and fury.

A Danish film from 1987 about a single extraordinary meal cooked as an act of grace rather than ambition — the quietest, most devastating rebuttal to Adam Jones's version of what food is for.

But Slow, subtitled, and almost entirely without incident until its final act — the opposite of Burnt's adrenaline.

The Hundred-Foot Journey2014

A culinary rivalry across the street from a French village, gentler in every way, but sharing Burnt's obsession with what makes a dish — and a chef — worthy of respect.

But Sentimental where Burnt is abrasive; some will find it soft to the point of syrupy.

Big Night1996

Two immigrant brothers stake everything on one perfect dinner service — a smaller, funnier, more heartbreaking version of the make-or-break night Burnt builds toward.

But Quiet and slow by design; nobody throws a plate against a wall here.

No Reservations2007no page yet

A tightly-wound chef forced to loosen up, with real kitchen texture and a similar interest in control-freak perfectionism as both gift and curse.

But The romance dilutes the professional-kitchen tension that's the whole draw of Burnt.

Julie & Julia2009

Meryl Streep's Julia Child brings the same reverence for technique and discipline, minus the toxicity — proof mastery doesn't require self-destruction.

But Domestic and sweet-natured; there's no equivalent of Adam Jones's rage anywhere in it.

Chocolat2000

Food as seduction and transformation rather than warfare — a lush, sensory companion piece if you loved Burnt's close-ups on plating and texture.

But Whimsical and fable-like; anyone wanting kitchen realism will find it fanciful.

Ratatouille2007

Yes, it's animated, and yes, it still nails the terror and ecstasy of a kitchen at full service — a genuinely great argument that anyone can cook.

But It's a family film about a rat; the tonal gear-shift from Burnt is enormous.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi2011

Where Burnt imagines perfectionism as chaos and self-destruction, Jiro shows the same obsession lived out as calm, lifelong devotion.

A documentary about an 85-year-old sushi master whose entire life is discipline, repetition, and a total absence of drama — the real version of the genius-chef myth Burnt dramatizes.

But Meditative and repetitive by design; there's no arc, no crisis, no comeback.

Shokugeki no Soma2015no page yet

Identical engine — talented, arrogant chef must prove genius through a single perfect dish under judgment — recostumed as gleeful, shameless trash.

An anime where teenage chefs battle in cook-offs so intense the food's flavour triggers hallucinatory, often absurdly horny reactions — the culinary-genius-proves-himself plot of Burnt turned up to eleven and played completely straight-faced.

But Deliberately ridiculous, frequently juvenile, and a huge tonal swing from Burnt's brooding seriousness.