Many foodies are fans of the 2007 film Ratatouille. For the uninitiated, this movie is about a rat named Remy, who loves to cook and aspires to be a celebrated chef. He teams up with a clumsy kitchen worker named Linguini to cook gourmet meals in a Parisian restaurant. Nick DiGiovanni, a popular chef and food content creator, took his love for this film to new heights recently. He decided to train a rat to help him while cooking, in a way similar to Remy in the movie. He also names his own rat after this character. He shared a video in which we see the duo work together to make ratatouille (the French dish the film is named after). To mimic the movie, he decided to feed an unsuspecting food critic the same dish too. The video has since gone viral and received a lot of interest online.
While Nick DiGiovanni shared a sneak peek of his efforts on Instagram, he uploaded a complete video on YouTube. “I got a smart-looking rat and built a full custom kitchen with every piece of specialised equipment a rat would need to cook the perfect dish,” he explains in the beginning. The chef and his rodent helper first “wash” their hands. The chef then shows the viewers the custom shelves built with levers that will help the rat ‘choose’ the ingredients for the dish. The shelves contain 6 correct ingredients and other unnecessary ones have been added too. We see the rat run up the plank and start selecting basil, oregano, yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes. As the rat presses the lever, the ingredients fall down and the chef catches them.
Next, the chef starts chopping the vegetables. Although the rat doesn’t directly help out, the chef involves it in the process by placing Remy in a small basket attached to the knife handle. Later, the rat helps him arrange the veggie slices on a plate. The chef is seen telling him not to eat them. Next, the chef starts preparing the sauce. He brings out a contraption that allows Remy to help him pour olive oil into a saucepan. In the meantime, the chef adds chopped onions and garlic. To stir them, the chef directs Remy towards an automatic stir set-up attached to the pan. As he operates it, the chef jokes that the rat is smelling the ingredients as if to check they are cooking properly.
The chef also lets Remy use an automatic can opener so that they can use the canned tomatoes for the sauce. The chef blends the sauce himself and reminds viewers that even in the movie, Linguini frequently helped Remy and performed several steps of the recipe that a rat wouldn’t be able to (even in a fictional world). Once the sauce is ready, both of them taste it. The chef preheats the oven and then starts assembling the elements of the ratatouille in a baking pan, while Remy sits atop his head. He places it in the oven to bake. Later, once it’s cooked, he starts plating the dish as Remy runs up and down his hands and arms.
Also Read: ‘Catatouille’: Video Of Cat Turning Chef To Help Human Impresses Internet
For the final touch, the chef reminds us of one of the scenes in the movie in which Remy places a single chive as a garnish on top of the ratatouille. To allow the rat to recreate that action, the chef unveils a small platform set up next to the plate where a single chive has been placed. We see the rat run on it, take it in his hands and later, drop it onto the dish. As mentioned in the beginning, the chef makes an actual food inspector (who’s dressed up as the critic in the movie) taste the ratatouille. He claims that the critic has told him that he has never seen the film and thus is not aware of what he’s probably eating. Wondering what was his reaction? Watch the complete video below.
Many social media users were left amazed at the video and all the effort it implied. Here’s how people reacted in the YouTube comments section:
“As a rat owner myself, I find this video so cool! Great job, I usually don’t watch cooking content but dang, the fact that you taught a child rat (yes it is a child, too small to be an adult) how to cook is just a very entertaining concept. Keep up the great work!”
“Just wait, until Disney sees this and announces a live-action Ratatouille movie.”
“This was SO wholesome. It will be one of the videos I watch if I’m having a bad day.”
“I’m more impressed with how clean the rat is, probably the first rat I’ve seen that isn’t repulsive.”
“The hardest part of this video was probably finding someone who hasn’t seen Ratatouille.”
“This is my new favourite video. Ever.”
“Got me kicking and giggling, and brought my childhood dream to reality. Love you, Nick and Remy.”
“I thought this was a joke at first, but it turned out it wasn’t. Can’t imagine what amount of work went into training that rat. I loved this. “
Has this viral made you want to watch foodie films? Here are some binge-worthy options.
