Latest news with #Ratatouille
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
I spent a year training a rat to cook ratatouille (seriously)
This is Remy, and for the past year, I've been teaching him how to cook. I know that sounds crazy, but what if it's not? In "Ratatouille," a food-loving rat dreams of becoming a chef and teams up with a young kitchen worker to make their dreams come true. The duo ends up impressing the most feared food critic in all of France. Together, they prove that anyone can cook — even a rat. It's one of the best movies ever, but so far, it's just a movie. I kept wondering what would happen if I actually tried to teach a rat how to cook and make it a reality. Rats are some of the smartest animals on the planet. They have incredible problem-solving skills, amazing memories, high emotional intelligence and, most importantly, they're trainable. So I did what any dreamer would do: I got an intelligent rat and built a custom kitchen designed just for him, with every specialized tool he could need to cook the perfect dish. Once I had trained real-life Remy, I planned to bring in a food critic who had never seen "Ratatouille," dress him up as Anton Ego, the harsh food critic, and trick him into eating food made by my rat. Let me take you through the whole (crazy) process, beginning to end. Before we could start cooking, the first step was to wash our hands. Remy washed his paws at his personal-sized sink I built for him, and I washed mine too. Then it was time to select the ingredients. I built custom shelving for Remy to climb, with levers set up to release different ingredients. Only six were correct choices for the dish, and the rest were wrong, so he had to be careful. I counted him down — three, two, one — and he immediately went to work. He hit the basil first, then the oregano. He avoided the second row completely, which was the right move. On the third row, he grabbed yellow squash and zucchini, then went for the eggplant. He stopped for a quick broccoli snack, but after that, he grabbed the tomatoes we needed to complete the ratatouille. I couldn't even blame him. I mean, who doesn't get hungry when they're cooking? With the ingredients picked, it was time to chop. Since knives are dangerous, Remy helped by using his weight to slice everything thin. Remy's weight was perfect for helping the knife cut through the vegetables. I barely had to push down. We started with the zucchini, then moved on to the yellow squash. The slices looked amazing. Eggplant came next — not my favorite vegetable, but essential for ratatouille — and finally Roma tomatoes, chosen for their firmer texture. Once the veggies were cut, Remy helped carry them over to a plate, even though he kept trying to sneak little bites. A true chef has to taste their work, right? Organization is critical in a kitchen, and he was doing an incredible job. Ratatouille isn't complete without a tomato sauce, so the next step was getting the base ready with my new friend. Remy tried to light the stove himself but needed a little help with that part. Plus, I didn't want him to get hurt so close to a fire. Once I got the stove going, he ran on a wheel that poured the perfect amount of olive oil into the pan. We added garlic and onions as the base of what was going to be a delicious sauce. Garlic and onions have to be stirred frequently to properly cook them without burning, and since Remy's arms weren't quite built for stirring, I set up an automatic stirrer. He climbed up, hit the button to start it, and kept smelling the mixture to make sure everything was cooking properly. It honestly felt like the mark of a true chef to keep such a watchful eye (and nose) on it. To finish the sauce, Remy climbed into a tiny pot on a pulley system to raise a can of crushed tomatoes for me. He dropped it off perfectly, and I added the tomatoes into the pot to simmer. Remy bit my ear a little as the sauce was almost done cooking. I think he was trying to tell me that it was ready to be blended out. Once I used an immersion blender to combine the sauce, it came out perfect. I could tell how good it was solely based on the smell. Remy and I gave it a taste together, and it was genuinely really good. Before assembling the dish, we needed to preheat the oven. Remy helped me adjust the temperature to around 300 degrees. Then, we ladled the sauce into the base of our pan, smoothing it out just like in the movie. Remy climbed onto my head to get a better view, and together we layered slices of eggplant, tomato, zucchini and yellow squash, over and over, forming a beautiful spiral. Once everything was layered perfectly, I covered it with parchment paper and placed it in the oven to bake. Remy was in charge of setting off a timer when the ratatouille was done cooking — and just like he promised, he rang the bell when it was time to come out of the oven. After baking, we carefully plated the ratatouille. I picked the best-sized vegetable slices to make sure the colors looked great and stacked them neatly. We built some height and pressed everything down into a mold. Pulling the mold off was a big moment, but it held perfectly. We finished it off with a little olive oil on top and our delicious tomato sauce drizzled around the outside, topping everything off with a few leaves of parsley. One of my favorite moments from the movie is when Remy places a single chive on top of the finished ratatouille. I wanted my Remy to do the same. He climbed up a platform, reached the end of a diving board that held a chive, picked it up and dropped it right on top, finishing the dish perfectly. Remy had done it. He made a real-life, rat-made ratatouille — perhaps the first one ever. Now it was time for the biggest test: serving the food to our critic without him knowing a rat made it. Dennis, our critic, is actually a real-life health inspector — someone whose job is to make sure restaurants don't have rats. He had never seen "Ratatouille" and had no idea what was going on. We dressed him up like Anton Ego and even set up a green screen behind him to complete the look. Dennis didn't know why he was dressed up, hadn't seen himself in a mirror and just trusted me to feed him. After offering him a glass of wine — which I definitely need to practice pouring — I brought out the dish. I explained that ratatouille is a famous French vegetable dish with a tomato sauce. Dennis didn't recognize it but prided himself on being an adventurous eater and gave it a try anyway. Dennis, or should I say Anton, thought the dish was simple but executed really well. On a scale of one to 10 for visuals and taste, he gave it a nine. He said he would order it at a restaurant and that it made him want to go back for another bite. He admitted he didn't think I could cook this well but was pleasantly surprised. After tasting and giving his notes, it was time to reveal the truth. I told him I had forgotten to introduce him to the real chef. Dennis assumed I meant myself — but then I introduced Remy. I showed him the footage of Remy picking the ingredients, stirring the sauce, running the pulley system and dropping the chive on top. Even Dennis had to admit that the pulley system was pretty cool. He wasn't mad, just shocked. A little disappointed — but not in Remy. In me, for lying. Dennis thought the rat did an awesome job and admitted everything tasted delicious. He even held Remy at the end, which is huge for a health inspector. When I asked him if he agreed that anyone could cook, Dennis finally said it: anyone can cook, even a rat. Teaching Remy to cook wasn't just a crazy experiment. It became one of the coolest reminders that passion matters more than anything else. You don't need to be the fastest, the biggest or the best right away. You just need to start, to keep trying and to believe that it's possible. Watching Remy pick ingredients, stir a sauce and create something real made me realize that great cooking, like anything else, comes from heart and effort. If a little rat can pull it off, so can you. Anyone can cook, and sometimes the only thing standing between you and something amazing is the courage to try. See Remy cook the ratatouille and try some other really cool tricks in my video below!
Buzz Feed
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
This Celeb-Approved Convenience Store Hack Is Genius
Spending $1000+ on a plane ticket to Japan and living off $3 convenience store foods when you get there is a tale as old as time. How could you not? You can see why it's possible — the convenience store game is GOD-TIER. From Family Mart fried chicken and assorted 7-Eleven sandwiches — to LAWSON onigiris and packed baked goods, you're spoilt for choice. But what should you actually pick up? After chatting about her music comeback and presenting at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards, I needed to ask Japanese-British singer Rina Sawayama this very question (along with any tips). Rina strutted onto the Anime Awards stage in a velvety Marc Jacobs dress to present 'Film of the Year'. Before the show, she sat down with us to chat all things new music, anime and film projects — read the full interview here. Her recommendation, which she credits to manager, Chikara Kasahara, is the best way to ensure you get steaming-hot curry buns before you walk through 7-Eleven's doors. Rina says that the secret is to "call [7-Eleven] ahead" of your visit, so you can experience "the freshest" Kare pan. Inspired by the simplicity (and effectiveness) of Rina's advice for a 10/10 eating experience, I've sifted through other viral internet faves and recommended combinations to find the best of the best kombini hacks. Basic I know, but adding a piece of boneless fried chicken into an egg salad sandwich (or, pancakes with syrup and margarine) is A1. Whenever I describe the experience of eating this for the first time, I can only compare it to the moment in Ratatouille when Remy combined strawberry and cheese for the first time, which caused him to shift into another dimension. The salty flavour from the chicken mixed with the sweet, yolk-y flavours of the egg salad sandwich is really, really good. Grab the egg salad sando from the fridge or pancakes from the baked and packaged goods shelf and the fried chicken from the window at the front counter. Mixing coffee jelly to a Royal Milk Tea Frappe is a budget bubble tea alternative with a caffeine hit. No boba stores around? Pull an Afternoon Tea brand milk tea frappe from the fridge and take it to the coffee dispenser. Then add the pre cut coffee jelly to the cup and stir for a creamy, coffee flavoured afternoon treat. Make a chicken parmi sandwich with just two convenience store items — pizza buns and front-counter fried chicken. At your nearest konbini, TikToker, Okinawa RV suggests grabbing two pizza buns and a piece of fried chicken to create a burger. When you bite into the pizza buns you'll get an ooze of marinara sauce with melted cheese that'll give you the parmigiana flavour to pair with the chicken. Have a creamy matcha latte frappe at any time of the day using drinkable ice cream. Three things are needed to pull this off — a 7-Eleven matcha latte from the drinks fridge, an ice cup and Coolish drinkable ice cream. Squeeze a good amount of the ice cream into your ice cup, tip the matcha over the top and stir! Ta-da you have a matcha frappe without the café prices. A well-known hack but one to A FRUIT SMOOTHIE! The food scene in Japan is a goldmine, from mochi and pork katsu to ramens and yakitori — it's sooooo good. However, you might find it's hard to get your fibre in and keep your bowel So, these all fruit smoothie from 7-Eleven are an easy and yummy way to put some fibre back into your indulgent food when it's hot, these icy bevvies will help cool you down. Still feeling a bit blocked up? Grab a yogurt drink of one of these Fibe-Mini drinks that have a healthy amount of dietary fibre. If you're lucky enough to be around a konbini with a hot cookie or baked goods window, grab yourself two pieces and an Ohayou Brulee in the freezer for a DIY ice cream sandwich. Warm, gooey cookies with a crackly, sugar topped ice cream centre? Sign me up. This looks Nikki Eats Japan only picked up one cookie to make her sandwich, which might help if you want to take the sugar content down a notch. Not super sure about this one but it seems easy enough. Grab yourself a duo pack of Yukimi Mochi Ice Cream from the freezer and make sure it's vanilla. Then pull a cup of curry ramen from the shelf and prepare it (at home or in-store). When the noodles are cooked to your desired bite texture, add in the vanilla mochi ball and stir until combined enough. Enjoy, I guess? And finally, when you're feeling sick during your trip and need something lighter on your stomach, grab a plain rice ball and instant miso soup. Broth and soup is a healing combination. Usually, miso soup is used a side dish with a bigger meal but in this case, IT IS THE MEAL. The gentle, salty flavour with the plain rice ball is comforting and easy on the stomach. What are you favourite convenience store hacks in your country?
Eater
5 days ago
- Health
- Eater
Gone, Godmother: LA's Favorite Italian Deli Sandwich Spot Shut Down by Health Department
It seems like Bay Cities' famous meat-and-cheese-stacked Godmother sandwich has attracted tiny unwelcome terrestrial visitors — vermin, that is. During a recent inspection by the County of Los Angeles Public Health, a vermin infestation was found in the locally loved Santa Monica restaurant, resulting in a temporary closure. Additional issues were identified with hot and cold holding temperatures, inadequate cleaning and sanitizing of cooking surfaces, and handwashing practices. The restaurant remains closed as of May 27; a pre-recorded message plays when calling Bay Cities, saying that the decision to close was made 'in consultation with the Health Department.' A reopening date has not been announced yet. Eater LA has reached out to Bay Cities for comment. Bay Cities has been open in Santa Monica since 1925, serving a wide range of Italian deli sandwiches alongside well-stocked aisles of Italian goods, fresh baguettes, and packaged cold salads. The restaurant first opened on the corner of Broadway and Lincoln, a space that later became a now-closed Swingers, before shifting to its current home on the same block. Over the last century, it has attracted near-constant crowds for its cold cut sandwiches made at the in-store deli counter. In a previous inspection in 2024, Bay Cities received a 'B' with infractions including improper handwashing and glove usage, and issues with cleanliness on food contact surfaces. This isn't the first recent high-profile temporary closure due to a vermin infestation. In April, a cockroach was found in the tonic bar of the Santa Monica Erewhon, where the notorious smoothies are made. The bar closed briefly before reopening after a reinspection. Temporary closures like this aren't rare for Los Angeles. Casa Vega, 101 Noodle Express, Philippe's, Rainbow Bar and Grill, and even the now-closed Original Pantry Cafe have all been temporarily shut down by the health department in the past due to vermin problems. Hopefully, Bay Cities' unwelcome visitors got a taste of gabagool before being unceremoniously ushered out. Or, like Remy in Ratatouille , some provisions for the road. Sign up for our newsletter.
Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Daily Mirror
'I went for a weekend in Paris and was horrified no one had told me this'
A trip to the the city of love can be a dream for many people, filled with bucket-list sights like the Eiffel tower, the Louvre or Notre-Dame but it was the one sight nobody warned me about A staggering 50 million people make the trip to Paris every year, and as I boarded the Eurostar from St Pancras destined for Gare Du Nord I too added to this year's figures after taking a weekend away there just a few weeks ago. Having not stepped foot on Parisian soil before, I perhaps had an idolised version of the French capital, partly from a childhood fuelled with Pixar propaganda stemming from a love of Ratatouille. The city is unique in its place in the world, being one of just a few cities that has a global reputation for history, culture and gastronomy, partly a reason for the millions of tourists and definitely a contributing factor for my decisions to make the journey. Having slotted well into the box of a first-time tourist and visited many of the city's landmark sights - Versailles, the Eiffel Tower and the Arc De Triomphe were all ticked off the bucket list. But despite their architectural marvel it is one much more unexpected site that has lingered with me weeks after returning home, a vision that nobody really quite warns you about. Although the wide selection of patisseries and boulangeries still remain fondly in my memory, it is the creatures lurking in the streets below them that shocked me the most - the rats. Living in London, I have seen rats scurrying around at night, hopping from bin to bin but the vermin that wander the boulevards of Paris are on a whole other level. During my visit, I didn't expect those scenes engrained into my head from Ratatouille to have been so literal. It is something that local Parisians have seemed to become accustomed to becoming an aspect of "le quotidien"(daily life). Local media in the capital even joke that the animals are simply "unsavoury Parisian decor". But it was on my visit and munching on my third Pain au chocolat that I saw the biggest I have ever seen come trotting around a corner, seemingly unphased by any passers by or the organised chaos of Parisian life going on around them. The city has been locked in a centuries-old battle with the creatures, having on multiple occasions throughout its history made drastic attempts to tackle the vermin. But something has seemed to give-way in their uphill battle, with Mayor Anne Hidalgo changing tactics now asking for what the city can do for peaceful cohabitation with the rodents. In 2023, Politico reported that Anne Souyris, the city's deputy mayor for public health said: "With guidance from the mayor, we have decided to form a committee on the question of cohabitation." The city now aiming instead for its rat situation to be "effective" and "not unbearable". Although ahead of last year's Olympics a new crackdown came for the event it wasn't enough to deter my experience. So anyone planning a trip to Paris who suffers from musophobia may need to be wary.
Eater
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Eater
All-Clad's Inheritance-Worthy Cookware Is Up to $410 Off for Memorial Day
All-Clad is just one of those legacy brands that makes timeless, long-lasting cookware I know my descendants will fight over in the will, and which I have been fastidiously collecting over the years, little by little, in order to sear better steaks and make tomato sauces like a nonna (remember: the acidity of tomatoes can strip your cast-iron skillets). All-Clad has become a true titan of ultra-durable stainless steel pots and pans, and it's having a big Memorial Day sale from now until May 23. Now, I'm not immune to the charms of trendy cookware — that Great Jones x Ratatouille collaboration feels earned, especially per the late Anthony Bourdain's love of the film. But there's an eternal charm to a brand such as All-Clad, which is (still) made in its hometown of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, and beloved by James Beard Award-winning chefs and found in countless kitchens. Even the depths of various cooking subreddits, which can sometimes feel as lawless as Mad Max , cooks tend to agree that they can be a smart lifetime investment when taken care of properly. In the words of one Reddit user, 'Screw passing these on to my kids, I want to be buried with them.' There's a dizzying amount of deals on All-Clad's tools and cookware this Memorial Day — so below, we've whittled down our top picks to bring home before the long weekend kicks off. This 5-piece set is $210 off | All-Clad Prices taken at time of publishing. Save $380 on this 10-piece set | All-Clad Prices taken at time of publishing. Cassoulet your heart out while this pan is $50 off | All-Clad Prices taken at time of publishing. Give Pops this grilling set for Father's Day (while it's $45 off) | All-Clad Prices taken at time of publishing. This cutting board and chef's knife bundle is $90 off | All-Clad Prices taken at time of publishing. Happy cooking. The freshest news from the food world every day
