The Hundred-Foot Journey

In Mumbai, India a family restaurant run by Papa ends up being destroyed by a mob upset over an election dispute. Papa and his family successfully evacuate the guests; however Papa's wife is killed in the fire set at the restaurant. Seeking asylum in Europe, the family first settles in London; however their residence proves ill-suited to run a restaurant from, and eventually they depart for mainland Europe. Shortly after crossing the border between Switzerland and France the brakes on Papa's vehicle fail, which results in the family being forced to stay a night in a nearby French village. Marguerite, a local resident and sous chef at an upscale French restaurant in town, helps the family by volunteering the location of an auto repair shop and guest house in the town, as well as providing food for the travel-weary family. Papa is amazed at the quality of the food in the village and its availability, and learns of an abandoned restaurant building on the outskirts of town available for purchase. Seeing this as divine providence, Papa decides to open an Indian restaurant in the village. Upon learning of Papa's plan to open an Indian restaurant across the street, Madame Mallory, the widowed owner of the upscale French restaurant, attempts to discourage the Indians from proceeding with their plans. After sabotaging Papa's family by purchasing all the locally available ingredients needed to cook their dishes on opening night, a cold war erupts between Papa and Madame Mallory. The war peaks on Bastille Day, when one of Madame Mallory's cooks and a pair of his friends vandalize the Indian restaurant by spray painting the outer wall and setting fire to the restaurant's interior with firebombs. Hassan Haji, Papa's eldest son and premier chef, catches the would be arsonists in the act and scares them off, but in an attempt to extinguish the small fires within the family restaurant his hands end up burned. The following morning, Madame Mallory convenes a meeting of her chefs and asks them if they know the words to La Marseillaise. After citing lines from the song concerning equality and justice, she dismisses the cook from her restaurant responsible for the vandalism and then voluntarily cleans up the graffiti. Hassan, having heard that Madame Mallory hires potential chefs by taste testing an omelet they prepare for her, asks if he may cook an omelet for her to try. Citing his injured hands, he says that Madame Mallory will have to help him with the process. After sampling his cooking, Madame Mallory concedes to his potential to be a great chef and invites him to cook for her against the wishes of Papa and his family. Ultimately, Hassan, Papa, and Madam Mallory reach an agreement to allow Hassan to cook in Madam Mallory's restaurant. Hassan's cooking proves popular and unconventional enough to result in Madam Mallory's restaurant receiving its second Michelin Star, an elite honor bestowed on only a handful of restaurants in Europe. The award draws national attention to Hassan's cooking, and he is offered a job in Paris, France, which he accepts. Meanwhile, Papa and Madam Mallory make amends and ultimately begin romancing each other. In Paris Hassan's cooking quickly receives critical acclaim, fueling speculation of a third Michelin Star for the Paris restaurant; however Hassan's restaurant work is increasingly bogged down by thoughts of his family and Marguerite, with whom he had an ongoing romance. Ultimately, Hassan decides to return home, where he and Marguerite reunite. Proposing a business venture together, Hassan declare that he will help Madam Mallory's restaurant earn its third Michelin Star. That evening, Hassan and Marguerite are allowed to cook dinner for Hassan's family at Madam Mallory's restaurant. As the two young chefs bring out the dishes for the meal, everyone looks forward to an evening of romance and fine dining. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)