Andrew Zimmern Thinks The Menu Highlights The 'Insanity Of Our Food World'

The comedy-horror film, "The Menu," has piqued the interest of anyone in the know, including celebrity Chef Andrew Zimmern. The movie, which is streaming on HBO Max, was released on November 18, 2022, and has taken in $74,673,535 worldwide, with $9,004,957 during its domestic opening (per Box Office Mojo). Considered more disturbing than scary, "The Menu" tells the story of a couple who travels to a private island to dine in an exclusive restaurant spearheaded by celebrity Chef Julian Slowik (via Creepy Catalog).

According to SF Gate, San Francisco Chef Dominique Crenn was a consultant for the film, and she felt that the movie highlighted the poor mental health of workers in the restaurant industry. "In my industry, there is suicide and drinking and drugs, you know. We are so much in pain, and we don't need other peoples' pain to throw in there," Crenn said. She also felt that Slowik wasn't an antagonist, but rather a chef who was pushed to his breaking point due to these factors. Chef Andrew Zimmern felt similar; according to a tweet, he felt the movie hit close to home.

Chef and TV personality Andrew Zimmern took to Twitter to reveal what he thinks about "The Menu." He quoted an article from Variety stating he "agreed," before writing "'a Michelin starred version of 'Saw'... I loved this movie mostly for how thought provoking it is about the current insanity of our food world." Below the tweet, one commenter asked how Zimmerman believes the movie would impact fine dining establishments. "I think the NOMA 3.0 plan was conceived quite a while ago ... before 'The Menu', BUT.... They are both emblematic of the core issue. Restaurants like Hawthorne or NOMA are not sustainable. Redzepi said it himself," he wrote.

The NOMA reference refers to the Copenhagen, Denmark restaurant revealing today that it will be shuttering its doors in winter 2024. Even with the Michelin-star eatery costing $500 per meal, it doesn't feel it can continue operating in its current form. "It's scary and weird but I also know it's the right thing to do. As soon as the pandemic hit I had this feeling in me that it was time for something different," owner René Redzepi said. The restaurant will remain open as a test kitchen, perhaps opening for pop-ups from time to time.