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Here we are ranking the 16 greatest food scenes in movie history. These are the scenes where Hollywood’s directors had us salivating for more from start to finish.
We cover the full gamut of Hollywood’s greatest food scenes here, from animated films to high brow cinema, and everything in between.
Ranking the 16 Greatest Food Scenes in the History of Hollywood
First up on the list of the greatest food scenes in movie history is an iconic moment from Pulp Fiction. There should be no surprises there. But rest assured there are some surprises below on this list!
16. Pulp Fiction – Milk Shake
Coming up first we have the milkshake scene from Quentin Tarantino‘s Pulp Fiction. The entire diner scene is perfect from start to finish but this one only gets better with time as John Travolta’s character Vincent Vega is completely blown away by the fact that someone would pay $5 for a milkshake.
Can you imagine getting a top-tier milkshake these days for just $5?! Some of these ice cream places are out there charging 30-year mortgage prices for a milkshake and you have to wait in line for an hour to get one. But Vincent Vega is losing his mind over the $5 price tag. What a different time it was.
15. The Great Outdoors – 96oz Steak
The Old ’96er in The Great Outdoors is arguably the most iconic steak scene in cinema history. Somehow there’s never been a steak scene in a serious movie that does steak the justice it deserves but that’s neither here nor there because The Old ’96er is a legendary moment from John Candy, may he rest in peace.
14. The Menu – Cheeseburger
In the culmination of The Menu, a psychological horror film based around the obsessions tied to fine dining and 3* Michelin experiences, Ralph Fiennes cooks Anya Taylor-Joy a burger and somehow the emotion pouring out of this scene is more than anyone could’ve ever imagined.
Now, after having watched that clip (again) I’m craving a burger. There has to be a burger in my future for tonight. It must be done.
13. Cool Hand Luke – Hard Boiled Eggs
What is the maximum number of hard boiled eggs you think you can eat? Is it 50? No? Then you’re inferior.
Here’s the thing. He could have thrown out any number. It didn’t have to be 50. Why didn’t he say 25? 30? 35? Luke just threw out “I can eat 50 eggs” to which someone immediately chimed in with “nobody can eat 50 eggs” and then he specified an hour as his time limit. This was all self-inflicted.
12. A Christmas Story – Chinese Christmas
Growing up in my house, this film was playing on repeat on Christmas. The Peking duck’s head getting chopped off and the mom screaming will never cease to please me. They’re down and out after the dogs destroyed the turkey. Dad is miserable. But thanks to the only Chinese restaurant in town all isn’t lost. It’s an epic scene in a film filled with incredible scenes.
11. Birds of Prey – Harley Quinn and the BEC Sandwich
This scene from Birds of Prey is a relative newcomer to the list of all-time great food scenes in movies. Harley Quinn and the bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich devolving into a chase. Her passing for the sandwich is something we all share and this scene has really resonated with people in recent years, an iconic scene from an otherwise forgettable film.
10. Lady and the Tramp – Spaghetti
Somehow a cartoon scene with dogs snuck onto this list, huh? Well, it’s iconic. Anyone who says otherwise is a jabroni.
The Bella Notte spaghetti scene could actually be #1 on this list. There’s easily a case to be made for that.
9. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom – Snakes for Dinner
I definitely first watched this scene at an age where I was too young to understand that nobody in life would ever serve me live snakes hidden inside of another dish. When I first watched this dinner scene it created an unnecessary lifelong fear in me, similar to quicksand or the Bermuda Triangle.
8. Matilda – Chocolate Cake
Does it get better than Bruce versus the Chocolate Cake? Easily one of the 10 greatest food scenes in movie history if not top 5. This scene alone probably caused a 10% increase in chocolate cake sales nationwide.
7. When Harry Met Sally – Katz’s Deli
Not your traditional ‘food scene,’ but this moment definitely stole the show in When Harry Met Sally which is considered to be among the greatest Rom-Coms ever filmed. The BroBible office used to be a short walk from Katz’s Deli and I came to love it like no other. Sandwiches the size of my head. How do you top that?
6. Inglorious Basterds – Strudel
By now you’re probably realizing that Quentin Tarantino is a master when it comes to dining scenes. This moment from 2009’s Inglorious Basterds where Shosanna Dreyfus comes face to face with Col. Hans Landa, her tormentor and the man she’s out to exact revenge on, is dripping with tension from start to finish.
5. A Goofy Movie – Pizza!
What is it about this 20-second clip in A Goofy Movie that had a complete and utter stranglehold on millennials for life. This tiny snippet of cartoon had us all chasing the high of that pizza for our entire lives. This is the #1 greatest food scene in animated film history.
4. Pulp Fiction – Big Kahuna Burger
The third of Quentin Tarantino’s foods scenes to appear on our list of the greatest dining scenes of all time… This one’s iconic. The ‘Big Kahuna Burger.’ Just think how much $$$ Samuel L. Jackson made in his career off of this scene alone, killing it from start to finish.
3. Hook – Peter and the Lost Boys
Peter Pan finally shuts off his brain and remembers who he is just in time for a food fight to break out. That scene came out of nowhere in an otherworldly movie.
When he got hit in the face by that frosting everyone seeing this movie for the first time was stunned. This scene walked so the holiday feast scenes in Harry Potter could run.
2. Chef – Grilled Cheese
This is arguably the best proper food scene in film history if we’re looking at serious scenes. It is simply impossible to watch this clip without craving a grilled cheese. And for those who have never prepared a grilled cheese at home this scene offers up everything they’d ever need to know.
1. Goodfellas – Sundays in Prison
Last up on the list of the greatest food scenes of all time is the Sunday dinner scene from Martin Scorcese’s Goodfellas. This scene had me for years thinking I needed a razor blade to get the garlic perfect for sauce.
You cannot watch this scene without craving pasta. It is not possible. And despite taking place inside of a prison, this scene manages to capture a side of the Goodfellas culture that was necessary to tell the complete story. 10 out of 10.