For the past few months I’ve been posting on this blog about the movie The Hundred-Foot Journey which opens tomorrow. Normally this isn’t one of my go to genres of movie but something about it appealed to me. I think the overall story was interesting and the food looked incredible. I also love Helen Mirren and thought that she was great in Red and Red 2 and also the voice of Dean Hardscrabble in Monsters University. So I began to learn more about the movie and was pleasantly surprised to find that I would be able to go to California to not only screen the movie but to meet Manish Dayal the male lead and also to get a cooking lesson at Le Cordon Bleu.

Two Weeks Ago I was on an all expense paid blogger trip sponsored by ABC Family (#ABCFamilyEvent, #MysteryGirls, #YoungandHungry, #ChasingLife), Disney (#GuardiansOfTheGalaxyEvent, #BigHero6) and DreamWorks (#100FootJourneyEvent). The opinions expressed in this post are 100% mine unless of course they are credited as a direct quote of someone else.

The story opens on an Indian family. The young boy is shopping in the open air market with his mother. They are following a seafood merchant who has sea urchins. The boy tries some of the insides and his face fills with delight. He gets it, he appreciates the food and he knows how to appreciate the tastes and textures. The young boy is Hassan and he learns at the feet of his mother how to cook. The family runs a restaurant until one day there is a revolution and the government is overthrown. Those who are staging the coup destroy the family’s restaurant by fire and Hassan’s mother dies in the fire. The family seeks asylum in the UK and eventually move to France.

The family now consists of Papa, Hassan, Hassan’s sister and husband and their two kids. The family is travelling along the French countryside and the brakes in their vehicle go out and the car crashes. Fate has brought them to this place and they are helped by young Marguerite who is a cook at Le Saule Pleureur, a Michelin starred, classical French restaurant run by Madame Mallory. Marguerite give the family shelter and food. When the family tries the amazing fresh food that Marguerite provides for them they recognize something special and joy comes to their faces as this journey they have been on has been a difficult one.

Papa buys a property and the family fixes it up to open an Indian Restaurant. Papa is loud and full of life. He is a natural haggler and salesman. He is a direct contrast to Madam Mallory and she is instantly put off by him and his antics. This would be fine if they never saw each other but the restaurants are 100 feet apart across a small country road. Madam Mallory makes it very hard for the Kadams to make a go of their restaurant until an incident happens which softens her a bit.

Eventually respect is earned and given. A friendship begins and between Papa and Madam Mallory.

The movie really centers around the character of Hassan. He is a natural at cooking. He can combine ingredients to create amazing works of culinary genius. He also takes the time to learn and adapt in an effort to survive and ultimately thrive.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and certainly would recommend that friends and family see it. There is heart and depth to the characters. There is a real sense of family in the movie. Family that is strengthened by love for each other and love for food. The family extends beyond the Kadams to those that they touch.

The movie is beautiful to watch with amazing locations and scenes. It will also make your mouth water with all of the delicious food that is prepared, so don’t go on an empty stomach and don’t get a cheap drive through meal before you go either. Make a night of it, go to a nice restaurant and eat something amazing because once you see this movie you are going to want something incredible to eat.

Learn more about The Hundred-Foot Journey Movie below.

THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY
DREAMWORKS PICTURES and PARTICIPANT MEDIA

Genre: Comedy/Drama
Rating: TBD
U.S. Release date: August 8, 2014
Running time: TBD

Cast: Helen Mirren, Manish Dayal, Om Puri, Charoltte Le Bon
Director: Lasse Hallström
Producer: Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Juliet Blake
Executive Producer: Caroline Hewitt, Carla Gardini
Co-Producer: Raphael Benoliel
Screenplay by: Steven Knight
Based on: The novel “The Hundred-Foot Journey” by Richard C. Morais

In “The Hundred-Foot Journey,” Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal) is a culinary ingénue with the gastronomic equivalent of perfect pitch. Displaced from their native India, the Kadam family, led by Papa (Om Puri), settles in the quaint village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in the south of France. Filled with charm, it is both picturesque and elegant – the ideal place to settle down and open an Indian restaurant, the Maison Mumbai. That is, until the chilly chef proprietress of Le Saule Pleureur, a Michelin starred, classical French restaurant run by Madame Mallory (Academy Award®-winner Helen Mirren), gets wind of it. Her icy protests against the new Indian restaurant a hundred feet from her own, escalate to all out war between the two establishments – until Hassan’s passion for French haute cuisine and for Mme. Mallory’s enchanting sous chef, Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon), combine with his mysteriously delicious talent to weave magic between their two cultures and imbue Saint-Antonin with the flavors of life that even Mme. Mallory cannot ignore. At first Mme. Mallory’s culinary rival, she eventually recognizes Hassan’s gift as a chef and takes him under her wing.

“The Hundred-Foot Journey” abounds with flavors that burst across the tongue. A stimulating triumph over exile, blossoming with passion and heart, with marjoram and madras, it is a portrayal of two worlds colliding and one boy’s drive to find the comfort of home, in every pot, wherever he may be.

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THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY arrives in theaters everywhere on August 8th!