There’s a scene in Ratatouille where Remy the rat sneaks into the kitchen of a high-end restaurant and makes extreme adjustments to a vat of soup, which is unknowingly served to many wealthy patrons. The entire sequence—Remy adding a splash of heavy cream, an abundance of fresh herbs and vegetables, and a sprinkling of numerous seasonings to the pot—takes place in just a few seconds, yet reveals his deep understanding of flavor and ingredients. The unconventional tale of Remy, a French rat facing steep odds of becoming a chef, is inspiring in its message—“Anyone can cook.” All of Ratatouille's fresh recipes are all made by the self-taught rat-turned-chef. Though some of the dishes in the film are out of the skill range of a run-of-the-mill home cook, there is a heavy emphasis on the caliber of the meal coming from fresh, high quality ingredients and earnest cooking, rather than pretentious skills. After watching Ratatouille, we can appreciate the simplicity behind meals that we cook for ourselves and savor them just as much as any dish we may find in a high-end restaurant.
Inspired by Ratatouille's fresh recipes, I prepared courses from three of the film’s iconic scenes. In the spirit of Ratatouille, many of the just-harvested ingredients came from that day’s Farmers Market in Downtown Berkeley. Arms laden with sweet tomatoes, fragrant basil, and assorted squash, I showed up on photographer Casey Dai’s doorstep (with editor William Lee in tow) to once again commandeer her kitchen and get to cooking.
Cheeseboard
When Remy tries to explain the way flavors interact within food to his rat friend, he combines the sweetness of a strawberry with the nuttiness of a block of cheese. So in true French fashion, we started off our courses with a decadent cheeseboard. Our spread contained figs drizzled in honey, slices of crispy baguette, slivers of prosciutto, creamy brie and goat cheese, succulent grapes, orange preserves, and sharp dark chocolate.
Like Remy, we sampled a variety of combinations, combining sweet and savory flavors to make something entirely unique. From our improvisations, we understood how the juxtaposition between certain ingredients resulted in stunning flavor profiles. Once polished off, it was time to move on to the next course.
Omelet
(Intended frame on second Instagram slide)
Once Remy makes an unlikely friend with Linguini, a human chef, he shows off his self-taught skills by making breakfast omelets. With the morning sun gently slanting through the windows, he serves Linguini a sizzling omelet before digging into his own miniature plate.
For our omelet, I chose to modify Food Network’s French omelet recipe (opting for the half-moon omelet shape rather than the classic French folded version). In a pan with bubbling butter and medium-low heat, I gently scrambled the whisked eggs, then allowed them to firm up over a couple minutes. After adding mozzarella, cheddar, and ribbons of basil, I folded the omelet in half and took it off the heat while still soft. Lastly, I allowed the residual heat from the pan to firm up the omelet further.
I repeated the steps to make a Remy-sized omelet as well. Tender and savory, we scarfed down both as quickly as they were eaten in the movie.
#SpoonTip: The key to making French omelets is to be patient. Perfect French omelets have no browning and are cooked over a consistent medium-low heat to reach a tender firmness.
Ratatouille
Of course, this article would be incomplete without recreating the namesake of the film itself. Ratatouille, a “peasant dish” traditionally served as a cozy vegetable stew, is reimagined in the movie. Remy’s dish is served to sour-faced food critic Anton Ego, who is immediately transported to his childhood, where his mother serves him a bowl of ratatouille to lift his spirits. Satisfied, he devours the meal with relish.
Since the dish’s presentation was elevated to fit the atmosphere of a renowned restaurant, we followed in Remy’s footsteps (pawsteps?), basing ours off Megan Miller’s recipe. Using our farm-fresh bounty of zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, and eggplant, we meticulously lined the pan with thin slices of each, over a bed of our rich tomato-onion sauce.
The resulting colorful dish, once out of the oven, was comforting in its simplicity and showcased the freshness of each of the ingredients. Both a beautiful sight for our eyes and a sensation for our taste buds, the humble dish was mouth-wateringly delicious.
#SpoonTip: Serve with toasted slices of French baguette to soak up any leftover tomato sauce.
Much of the movie Ratatouille’s focus comes down to encouraging self-taught cooks to continue creating meals they know and love. Ratatouille's fresh recipes dazzle in their simplicity and showcase comfort and enjoyment above anything else. This film teaches us how to slow down and savor the warmth of a dish, the combination of sweet and savory, and the complexity of flavors added by fresh herbs and spices. Armed with fresh ingredients, a willingness to learn, and a passion for food, anyone can cook.