Sizzling Secrets Of Bradley Cooper Chef Movie Burnt 2015

The movie Burnt (2015), a tumultuous story of fictional Adam Jones chef extraordinaire, but more often referred to as The Bradley Cooper Chef Movie, may not have gotten critics fired up when it was released, but isn’t quite the under-cooked failure many might assume.

Putting taste aside for a moment, we explore some of the secret ingredients that went into the movie Burnt, and reheat some of the film’s more interesting aspects.

Starring Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Daniel Bruhl, Alicia Vikander, Omar Sy, Uma Thurman, Emma Thompson, Lily James and Matthew Rhys.

Burnt (2015)

Directed by John Wells.

This Bradley Cooper chef movie focuses on the fictional Adam Jones chef par excellence! Letting his murky, drug-fuelled lifestyle get the better of him, Adam finds himself fired from a top job in the culinary world and desperate for redemption, which he can only achieve by coming to terms with his past, getting his old crew back together, and winning a third Michelin star.

Along the way he must avoid his former drug dealer, navigate a difficult relationship with sous-chef Helene, and learn to control his fiery temper.

To a degree the movie Burnt is one that will forever be in the shadow of its Jon Favreau contemporary Chef (2014), a film which did a better job of getting it right about professional kitchen life and culinary passions. But that is not to say this Bradley Cooper chef movie is a secret gem waiting to be discovered – the problems with the movie Burnt are of its own making, and are deeply ingrained.

Critical of the lacklustre script and all the chef story clichés, film reviewers have continued to be unkind to the movie Burnt since its release, and don’t look like they’re about to change.

Simmering for a decade in development hell, this Bradley Cooper chef movie helmed by TV show ER’s John Wells was at one stage to star Keanu Reeves and be directed by Fight Club’s (1999) David Fincher. While many can speculate as to what nuanced cinematic reels the alternative two may have delivered, as it stands the movie Burnt is about a shouty chef inexplicable admired by other kitchen dwellers for his passion for food preparation without telegraphing to the viewing audience how or why he should be.

Burnt may be many things, but a serious psychological drama it is not. Although very much human and kinda-sorta relatable, Adam Jones chef extraordinaire is not a character that is easy to root for, partly because he is more Gordon Ramsay than Bradley Cooper.

Bradley Cooper as Adam Jones chef stood in a professional kitchen looking worried in Burnt movie 2015

5 Facts On Bradley Cooper Chef Movie Burnt (2015)

5. Although not wholly original, the initial intention was to title the film ‘Chef’. Unfortunately, a Jon Favreau movie had already claimed dibs on the name, and so alternatives needed to be considered. For a long time producers were set on calling the movie ‘Adam Jones’ after the story’s protagonist, before eventually settling on the more creative title ‘Burnt’.

4. Jamie Dornan played a minor role which was cut from the film. The Northern Irish actor had a two and a half minute scene sat in a car with Sienna Miller, playing the part of her creepy alcoholic ex-boyfriend.
While little more than a cameo, his sudden rise in fame by the release of Fifty Shades Of Grey (2015) earlier that year would have provided an additional name to the already impressive roster of A-list stars making brief appearances in the film, among them Uma Thurman and Emma Thompson.

Talking to Entertainment Weekly director John Wells explained that the scene was not pulled for any reasons pertaining to poor performance. ‘In making every film, cuts and adjustments in storylines inevitably occur’ admitted Wells, and ‘part of Sienna Miller's character's backstory [was no longer needed]’ as during post-production they decided to focus the film even further on Bradley Cooper’s Adam Jones chef character instead.

Had his scene remained in the picture, the movie Burnt would have provided a 4th film credit for Dornan in-between Fifty Shades Of Grey and its sequel Fifty Shades Darker (2017).

3. Grossing only $5 million on its opening weekend meant that the Bradley Cooper chef movie Burnt was the 4th worst result ever for a film which opened to 3,000 cinemas. Despite this, within a month of release the film did eventually manage to earn back its $20 million budget. By contrast, the Jon Favreau movie Chef (2014), which was released a year and a half prior, managed to gross over $31 million in the USA by screening in only 1,298 theatres.

Come the end of its run, the movie Burnt would bring home just over $36 million, ten million less than the $46 million achieved by the lower-budgeted Chef.

2. Consultants on the movie Burnt included famous chefs Marcus Wareing, Mario Batali, and Gordon Ramsay, the latter also taking on some additional producer duties. Wareing, a UK based restaurateur with 2 Michelin stars, prepared all the recipes for the movie, but during filming all scenes of prepping food had to be done for real, with all the hazards that come with an active kitchen - and just to add even further pressure to the actors, some of the extras were genuine chefs.

1. In some countries the film was released under the title ‘Super Chef’. Luckily for the foreign marketing department Jon Favreau hadn’t put a cape on the character in his chef movie!

Poster for the Jon Favreau Movie Chef 2014

Sienna Millar as Helene in the foreground and Daniel Bruhl as Tony behind her in the movie Burnt 2015

Bradley Cooper as Adam Jones cooking with eggs in a domestic kitchen

An inforgaphic of 5 pieces of trivia on the Burnt movie 2015

Quick-Fire FAQs About The Movie Burnt 2015

Is Burnt based on a true story?

Burnt is the narrative of the fictional Adam Jones chef played by Bradley Cooper. Although not true, the story and Cooper’s performance are heavily influenced by the life and personalities of famous chefs including Gordon Ramsay, Marcus Wareing, Mario Batali and Marco Pierre White.

Is Burnt movie based on Gordon Ramsay?

While Gordon Ramsay was a producer and acted as a consultant on the movie Burnt, it is not in fact based on his life. The Bradley Cooper chef movie is based on an amalgamation of various famous chefs.

Is Tony in love with Adam in Burnt?

Gay character Tony the restaurant owner in Burnt (played by Daniel Bruhl) repeatedly informs us that he is in love with Bradley Cooper’s Adam Jones chef character, but the attraction loses some of its magic after Adam disingenuously kisses him.

What restaurant is Burnt filmed in?

The movie Burnt locations include The Langham Hotel, Blythe House and Al Enam Restaurant in London. Additional filming took place at Ealing Studios and in New Orleans.

Is Burnt based off of Anthony Bourdain?

Anthony Bourdain has been described as a ‘no-holds-barred celebrity chef’, which can easily be applied to Bradley Cooper’s Adam Jones chef character in Burnt. However no direct inspiration has ever been admitted to.