After making a few movies with budgets in the 9 figure range, writer/director/producer extraordinaire Jon Favreau scales things down to his indie film making roots. Chef is a fun little movie about man who puts his life back together one sandwich at a time.

Favreau plays Carl Casper, a well known chef who’s been headlining a popular restaurant for the better part of a decade. When he gets called out by a food critic for becoming a burned out star, Carl publicly confronts him and the meltdown goes viral on the internet. Spun further into a loop, he retreats and struggles with where his life is going.

Chef is an easy movie to digest and enjoy. It’s a cute personal growth and redemption story shown in a unique environment. Favreau went to great lengths to show the love and craftsmanship for the culinary arts. There are many food montages sprinkled throughout the movie, usually shown as Carl’s safe retreat from life. By figuring out food, he figures out himself and the people he loves.

Beyond the work that consumes him, is his family. Ex-wife Inez (Sofia Vergara) and his 10 year old son, Percy (Emjay Anthony, who is quite good). He often puts his fatherhood aside in favor for work and as a result, doesn’t really know his son. Carl losing his job and looking for a new one turns out to be the best thing to happen to him as it gives him a change to get connect and teach Percy for the first time.

Chef is a nice return to simple, straight forward movie making for Jon Favreau. He knows how to tell a good story, cast it with great people and make it look really good regardless with how much money he has to work with. Fair warning though: have a good meal before you watch Chef. Getting hungry while watching is a serious issue otherwise!