I’m sure you’ve noticed your cravings for good food have increased ever since the temperature took a dip. Winter’s on it’s way, you can feel it in the the icy breeze. The best way to beat the chill is to find solace in a big bowl of soup or creamy mac ‘n’ cheese. Food is comfort, it’s a blanket in your stomach that brings warmth to your soul. And there’s nothing better than cuddling up on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn watching a movie. We give you our pick of the best food movies.

Eat Pray Love

Based on the novel by Elizabeth Gilbert, EAT PRAY LOVE, is a 2010 film about self-discovery, spirituality, romance. After a her marriage falls apart and she doesn’t have much luck with her rebound, main character Liz decides to take a year-long trip around the world to mend her broken heart and find herself again. There are quite a number of reasons why this movie was such a success, Oprah endorsed it (you know whatever that woman touches turns to gold), it starred Julia Roberts (and that gorgeous smile of hers), that Spanish heartthrob Javier Bardem and it has food in it. She falls in love with a Napolitana pizza; fried artichokes; and a bowl of egg, asparagus, potato and ham salad drizzled with olive oil during her stay in Italy.

No Reservations

Another chic flick with food in it: Starring Catherine Zeta-Jones as Kate, a perfectionist workaholic chef, who gets thrown a curve-ball when she becomes the legal guardian of her young niece. To make matters even more complicated, a new sous chef is thrown into the mix, making the kitchen even hotter. Kate’s life which was once ordered and free of any complications is now a whirlwind of spaghetti and tiramisu… But as the saying goes, if you can’t take the heat get out of the kitchen…

Julie & Julia

There are very few things I love more than Meryl Streep, food is indisputably one of them. Now put Meryl Streep and food together, I am in heaven! Inspired by two real-life stories, one of housewife turned renowned chef Julia Child and the other of under-appreciated cubicle worker turned blogger Julie Powel. After finding Julia’s cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1961), Julie sets herself the goal of cooking all 524 recipes, which include Beef Bourguignonne, Artichokes with Hollandaise Sauce and meltdown inducing Lobster, in just 365 days. It’s an amazing film that blends together two different stories to make one delicious, highly enjoyable movie experience.

Ratatouille

Pixar is known for producing motion pictures/animated films that  nestle their way into our hearts and become forever part of our childhood. Take for example, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc, UP and Ratatouille. The latter, which could possibly be my favourite, tells the story of a rat named Remy who turns out to be a culinary genius instead of the expected and loathed rodent. After sneaking into a fancy Parisian restaurant, Remy helps and forms a friendship with a human Alfredo Linguini who turns out to be the son of famous chef and founder of the restaurant, Auguste Gusteau.  There are so many reasons to love this film. As corny as it is, it really is a story of, if you dream it you can achieve it, you can be whatever you want to be. The film gets its name from the French peasant dish of stewed vegetables. As much as I may love the movie, having watched it over 8 times, I still wouldn’t let a rat in my kitchen.

Cloudy with a chance of meatballs

I know it’s a fictional story but I don’t care, Flint Lockwood deserves a Nobel prize for creating a gadget that turns water into food. Imagine it for a moment, cloudy with a chance of meatballs and hot-wings, nachos storms, cotton floss winds. Goodbye, world hunger! Yeah sure, the device kind of like malfunctioned of sorts and the results were disastrous, but hey

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

I’ve seen both movie adaptations of Roald Dahls childrens classic, but I can’t really decide which one I like best. I like the 1971 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory because it has an antique/vintage-y feel to it, while on the other hand the 2005 version with Johnny Depp, is so much brighter and colourful. But what I love about both films is that they both stay true to Roald Dahl’s sugary story in an imaginative and beautiful way. Side note: am I the only one who was creeped out by Willy Wonka even a little bit? At some point I was convinced he was a pedophile trying to buy Charlie’s affections through helping him out with his family situation… Okay, maybe not, but you can’t deny the oompa loompas are kinda scary in a really cool way.

Chocolat

Since we’re on the topic of chocolate, how sexy is Johnny Depp and Juliet Binoche in Chocolat? Chocolate has always been seen as a guilty pleasure. It’s been referred to as an aphrodisiac, heightening your senses, but it’s also a curer of ails/sicknesses. A slab of chocolate is the best cure for PMS, and nothing soothes a broken heart better than a tub of chocolate brownie fudge ice cream with crushed choc chip cookies (just for control purposes). Yeah sure it might cause diabetes but whatever… The movie is sweet and sexy. Best watched under a blanky with a big hot cup of cocoa with a special somebody.

Follow Lethabo Afrika on Twitter @CallMeAfriKa and tell us what your favourite comfort food is.