Cook Up a Storm

Sky Ko cooks in a street restaurant, running the place his father left him, and the neighbourhood loves him. A luxury restaurant opens in the same building, headed by Paul Ahn, a chef trained in France. Two kitchens face each other: one street food, the other plated presentation. Eventually they sit at the same table in an international competition. Raymond Yip directs. Nicholas Tse plays Sky and Jung Yong-hwa plays Paul, with Anthony Wong in the cast. The shape is the cooking contest film and it is familiar: two rival chefs, an old master, a neighbourhood and a final duel. What distinguishes it is Nicholas Tse himself. He cooks professionally and presented a food programme in China; the kitchen scenes are consequently undoubled and technically correct. The subject is who the food is made for. The street restaurant works for the neighbourhood and the restaurant for the scores, and the film openly takes a side. The father and son strand is the second layer; the old chef played by Anthony Wong is a father who left years ago. The food photography is the strongest element and the dishes were prepared with real chefs. Who it is for: viewers who like food films and Hong Kong popular cinema. Who it is not for: the script is entirely predictable, the emotional pitch is high, and the characters are thin.