The Menu: The True Story That Inspired the Authors of The Film

The Menu film is based on a true story! Will Tracy and Seth Reiss, the creators of the film, have told from which story came the inspiration for the film. Tracy says the movie was inspired by a real meal. At a remote restaurant on a Hawthorn-like Island off the coast of Norway, he recalls feeling intense claustrophobia: “There’s something relentless about all these tasting menus,” he says. “You can’t leave. You are held hostage by a story they tell you for hours”.

Another key influence was that of EL Ideas, a starring Chicago venue led by chef Phillip Foss. The chef allowed the two into his restaurant kitchen, where they noticed similarities in the ways ideas were pitched in the writers’ rooms. “Seeing that he really wanted to hang around and watch others throw something together was really cool”, Reiss explains. “That’s when I saw the chef as an artist or the chef as a collaborator”.

The Menu: The True Story Inspired the Authors

During their interview for Bon Appetit, Tracy and Reiss also said that part of what made their dynamic on The Menu work was their differing views on food: “I, with great shame,” says Tracy, I would definitely identify as a foodie ”. Cook at home, buy luxury appliances and plan vacations around food. Reiss, on the other hand, is not, even if he is quick to recognize the artistry of high-end restaurants.

The Menu follows diners as they dine at the famed Hawthorn restaurant, located on a private island and run by enigmatic chef Julian Slowik, played by Ralph Fiennes. Slowik is one of the most famous chefs in the world, the kind who would say that his food is his art. But a career spent catering to crowds of diners – people in constant search of new flavours, new textures and novelties – has left him bitter. With a few courses left in the evening, Slowik reveals his plan to kill all the customers in the restaurant. Trapped on the island with him and his team, the guests have no choice but to eat.