Boeuf Bourginon in the Freezer for The Hundred Foot Journey

I am down to the wire today so I am revisiting and revamping a couple of older posts regarding The Hundred Foot Journey.  It’s this month’s feature for Movies & Munchies.

I read The Hundred Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais  soon after it was published.   I have to say that while I enjoyed the novel, I found it a bit dark and depressing.   The mother is killed by an angry mob by page 27.  I was also depressed by the hollowness Hassan feels, even after he achieves stardom and the elusive three-Michelin star rating.  As the final lines of the novel state, I don’t think Hassan ever recovered from “that hungry space.”

In 2015, the film adaptation of the novel was featured on Food ‘n Flix.  I re-watched the film at the last minute for January’s Movies & Munchies.  This is a somewhat rewritten post from 2015 which I have updated a bit.

I found the film, which I just recently re-watched, definitely more upbeat and joyous.  The scenery struck me, especially in the French village.  There was an other worldly look to the street that separated Le Saule Pleureur  and Maison Mumbai .  Hassan’s unique and inherent culinary talent almost borders on fantasy (or magical-realism), thus giving the film a dreamlike timelessness to it.  The film also is much more upbeat than the novel. (Or, as upbeat as it could get with the death of the matriarch in the first few minutes of the film.)

I watched a few bonus features after the film during which Spielberg and Oprah waxed poetic about the making of this culinary classic.   Apparently, they found the farmhouse that would be morphed into Maison Mumbai and were sold on it for a location.  Unfortunately, there was no chateau across the road to serve for Le Saule Pleureur.   To solve this problem, they built a facade of the chateau and did a inordinate amount of filming with green screens.   I definitely think this technique lent itself to the dreamlike quality of setting.

I also enjoyed the fashion sense of the film.  The characters’  wardrobes were timeless as well, retro but classic.

Here is something I never say:  I think I enjoyed the film more than the book.

This still holds true and I also loved the relationship between Papa and Madame Mallory (a definite exaggeration from the novel).

Now for the food.  I made Two-Potato Vindaloo for the previous Food ‘n Flix post.  I also made Boeuf Bourginon for the Cook the Books tie-in.

I’m totally recycling here, sort of….

I make Boeuf Bourginon every holiday and since we didn’t really celebrate with the family until New Year’s this year, I made a big batch just for us.  I’m not reposting the recipe because I use the same one every holiday.  

As proof of making…Boeuf in the freezer from Christmas.

I also made French bread to serve it on.  

I am including my simple recipe for that here.  (Along with a terrible photo. I felt like I was making football bread.)

Since The Hundred Foot Journey is all about family, I am posting our simple family recipe for French bread, written in my mom’s hand above.

Thanks for hosting, Cam!

Think about joining us for February’s film:  500 Days of Summer.  Amy is hosting.