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El Jefe (The Chef) - film review

One of those feel good (food) films of this year.  It is all about the food and sights and sounds of places across the contiental USA.

A renowned chef working at a LA area restaurant decides to spin a daring feast for a blogger / food critic about to visit that night.  He is banking on complete surprise and a wow factor when the owner played by Dustin Hoffman comes in and advises against it.  He plays safe and wants hired help (chef -Favreau's character) to focus on cooking what works, that pays the bills.

That takes away from the chef whose creativity feels inhibited and he decides to take a chance on himself to prove what he is capable of.  With some cliched storyline involving a divorced father (also the chef) that yearns to spend time with his kid who is growing up missing him, and some item number (by popular vote played by the estranged Sofia Vergara in her loud over the top mannerisms) the story tends to showcase the spunk of the protagonist who despite being ignorant of the challenge involved in going entreprenuerial manages to pull of a successful business.

He remodels and operates a food truck that he starts with help from his former line cook and his kid managing the marketing for the business.

The little boy helps him get up to speed on today's social phenonenon using handheld computing power and that helps snag the clientelle including the star power or cachet that the chef previously has established with his cooking.

The truck starts in Miami and travels west to California making pit stops along the way selling local delicacies with the hit item being a Cuban sandwich also called a Cubano.  I had the pleasure of eating some amazing Cubano at Porto's in Burbank CA recently which is all about the bread.  Toasted in a panini maker the bread is used to sandwich a slice of cheese and some salami.  It is a treat.

Film ends with a predictable but still wonderful to watch scene where the blogger (played by Oliver Platt) visits the food truck wanting to eat the wonderful palate pleasers that Chef has cooked up.  He offers a partnership to the chef to start a new restaurant where he can be the BOSS.

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