CHEF ***

In his script for "Chef" Jon Favreau isn't afraid to allude to the size he's ballooned to. Favreau isn't just the scriptwriter but also the director and star of this excellent foodie picture in which he plays a world-class chef who loses his job after a food blogger gives him a bad review and who then sets out to turn his life around. It's a sweet movie made all the sweeter by the mouth-watering dishes on display. It's obvious that Favreau is having a good time here and you get the impression that the first-rate cast, (John Leguizamo, Bobby Cannavale, Sofia Vergara, Scarlett Johansson, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Downey, Oliver Platt and a terrific kid called Emjay Anthony), are as much friends as co-workers and that the movie is a labour of love. It was a commercial success, if not a runaway one, but surely cult status is destined to follow.