SAN FRANCISCO — What happens when you ask a group of food world luminaries to come up with their picks for Best Food Scene in a movie?
You get some unexpected responses. Who knew “Pulp Fiction” was such a foodie flick? You pick up a few tips, such as the “Goodfellas” guide to truly razor-thin garlic.
And there will be bacon.
Here are some of the nominations for Oscar-worthy examples of screen cuisine, along with a trio of cocktail recipes to help you toast this year’s winners Sunday in those other categories, such as Best Picture.
Fabio Viviani, “Top Chef” Season 5 “Fan Favorite” and host of Yahoo’s Chow Ciao, took a practical approach for his choice, opting for the “Goodfellas” scene that shows Paulie slicing garlic with a razor. “What a way to get the perfect thin garlic! You can almost smell the garlic and tomatoes and meat cooking in the scene.”
No one suggested scenes from classic “food movies” like “Big Night” or “Tampopo,” perhaps not surprising considering that those kind of films don’t exactly qualify as escapism to a cook.
As Colman Andrews, editorial director of TheDailyMeal.com puts it,memorable food scenes are the ones that “sneak up on me, in non-food movies,” like the old-fashioned bread-baking process shots from “The Baker’s Wife,” a French classic from the 1930s.
Sometimes movies poke fun at the trappings of fine dining and Stephen Barber, executive chef of Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch in the Napa Valley is OK with that. He likes the scene from “The Jerk,” in which a gauche Steve Martin, after first ordering some “fresh” wine, “no more of this old stuff,” is horrified to find that his date’s plate is covered with snails.
Michael Mina, a Michelin-starred chef and big movie fan, went for something a little different with his favorite food scene — the dialogue between Jules and Vincent as they have breakfast at a diner in “Pulp Fiction.”
“The whole scene is so perfect,” he says. Vincent offers Jules a piece of bacon and prompts a diatribe against pork that segues into why Jules is planning on retiring as an assassin. “It’s pure brilliance and classic Tarantino.”
For his part, Mina has no such qualms. Bacon “is that one ingredient that you have to have,” he says. Just not too much. Mina jokes that he does a “bacon check” of restaurant menus in his Mina Group to make sure that the dishes aren’t going overboard.
Mina’s a big breakfast fan. In fact, when he was asked to cook for a fancy post-Oscars party a few years back he agreed on one condition: “I’m only coming if I’m cooking omelettes.”
Omelettes and Oscars? As they (almost) say in show business, break an egg.
Spiced Rose-Pomegranate Spritzer
Start to finish: 10 minutes; Servings: 1
Pinch of cardamom
Pinch of ground star anise
1/2 teaspoon rose water
1 ounce pomegranate liqueur
1/2 ounce Galliano (an Italian liqueur)
Seltzer water
In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine the cardamom, star anise, rose water, pomegranate liqueur and Galliano. Shake well, then strain into an ice-filled highball glass. Top with seltzer water.
Citrus Bubbly
Start to finish: 10 minutes; Servings: 1
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 ounce Cointreau or other orange liqueur
Sparkling wine, chilled
Lemon twist, to garnish
In a Champagne flute, gently stir together the lime juice, lemon juice and orange liqueur. Top with sparkling wine, then garnish with a lemon twist.
Wild Meadow
Start to finish: 10 minutes; Servings: 1
2 ounces mead (honey wine)
1 ounce St. Germain elderflower liqueur
1 ounce brandy
Fresh berries
In a cocktail shaker with just 1 ice cube (you should serve the cocktail just cool, not cold), combine the mead, elderflower liqueur and brandy. Strain into a cocktail glass, then garnish with fresh berries.
