Burnt is a 2015 American drama film directed by John Wells and written by Steven Knight, from a story by Michael Kalesniko. The film stars an ensemble cast including Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Omar Sy, Daniel Brühl, Matthew Rhys, Riccardo Scamarcio, Alicia Vikander, Uma Thurman and Emma Thompson. The film was released on October 30, 2015, by The Weinstein Company. The film was not well-received by critics but grossed $36.6 million.

Plot

Adam Jones was the chef at a high-class Parisian restaurant owned by his mentor Jean-Luc, until his drug use and temperamental behavior destroyed his career and the restaurant. In the aftermath, Adam went into self-imposed exile in New Orleans by shucking a million oysters to sober up, planning to head to London to restart his career and attempt to earn a third Michelin star.

In London, Adam searches for old colleagues, beginning with his mentor s former maître d hôtel, Tony Balerdi, now a hotel manager of The Langham Hotel in London, under the ownership of the Balerdi family. Adam checks into one of The Langham s rooms then visits an old friend, Conti, and notes the talent of his sous-chef Helene, but she dislikes his arrogance and dismisses him immediately. A Paris colleague, Michel, whose restaurant Adam had sabotaged out of jealousy, tracks him down. After a brief fistfight, they talk and Michel forgives Adam then asks to work for him. Adam also visits a cutting-edge eatery run by Reece, with whom he has a long-standing rivalry, and the visit ends poorly. Adam s former drug dealer realizes he has returned to Europe and attempts to collect Adam s outstanding debt.

Adam convinces famed restaurant critic Simone to dine at Tony s hotel. Tony realizes that Adam set this up and is reluctant to let him cook, but his kitchen is in such poor condition it would result in Simone shutting his restaurant down. Seeing no other way, he allows Adam to cook. Simone s favorable review convinces Tony to renovate the hotel s kitchen and hire Adam as head chef permanently. He stipulates that Adam must submit to weekly drug tests with Tony s psychiatrist Dr. Rosshilde. Adam agrees to the tests, although he is uninterested in therapy and throws himself into preparations for the grand opening. Another old friend, Max, joins Adam s team after being released from prison. Helene rebuffs further job offers until Conti fires her and sends her to Adam s kitchen. Helene is irate about being fired, but Adam convinces her to work for him by tripling her salary.

Opening night is a disaster, and Adam furiously closes early, blaming Helene. He publicly humiliates her, escalating from verbal to physical aggression, and she quits. Adam goes on a talk show that he previously turned down to drum up publicity for the restaurant. At his second opening, a restaurant critic gives a positive review, enraging Reece. Tony convinces Helene to return with a doubled salary and some insight about Adam s behavior. Adam improves his attitude, but refuses her request for time off for her daughter Lily s birthday. Later, he notices his kitchen acting in a strange manner. Helene reveals that her daughter is at the restaurant under Tony s supervision, since she did not want to spend her birthday at home. Adam is upset, but relents and bakes Lily a birthday cake, which impresses Helene.

With the restaurant s reputation established, Adam sets his sights on three Michelin stars, still avoiding his drug dealer, even after Tony offers to pay off his debt. Adam takes Helene to the reopening of Reece s restaurant. Adam and Reece are civil, but the night derails when Adam spots his ex-girlfriend Anne Marie, the daughter of Jean-Luc. Adam finds Anne Marie surprisingly forgiving after he abandoned her in Paris and missed her father s funeral. The encounter leaves Adam shaken and introspective about his failure in Paris. Early the next morning, Helene finds him at the fish market where they kiss in the alley behind The Langham on the way back to the restaurant. They are interrupted by the drug dealer s thugs, who take Adam away. He returns that night during dinner service beaten and bruised.

Kaitlin, the front of house host, advises Tony that two Michelin reviewers have arrived, and he cooks for them rather than going to the hospital. They send their meals back as it s too spicy, and Michel reveals he sabotaged the sauce with cayenne pepper as revenge for Adam s past cruelty before walking out. On the verge of a breakdown, Adam leaves the restaurant.

He wanders the city, eventually arriving at Reece s restaurant drunk. Once inside, he begins to break down emotionally. Reece soothes him, and they part on better terms the following morning. Adam attends a group therapy session, then returns to the hotel, where he learns that Anne Marie has paid off his debt. She gives him her father s knives and tells him that she approves of Helene. Tony and Helene find Adam and tell him that the two men they thought were Michelin reviewers were actually just businessmen on a trip. Adam rejoices at the opportunity of a second chance, and he and Tony kiss.

Altered by his experiences, Adam changes the way he runs the kitchen. As a result of his improved attitude and teamwork, the restaurant receives its third Michelin star. At the end, he sits down to eat the family meal with the kitchen crew, who are his new family.

Cast

• Bradley Cooper as Adam Jones
• Sienna Miller as Helene Sweeney
• Omar Sy as Michel
• Daniel Brühl as Tony Balerdi
• Riccardo Scamarcio as Max
• Sam Keeley as David
• Alicia Vikander as Anne Marie
• Matthew Rhys as Montgomery Reece
• Uma Thurman as Simone
• Emma Thompson as Dr. Rosshilde
• Lily James as Sara
• Sarah Greene as Kaitlin
• Henry Goodman as Conti
• Stephen Campbell Moore as Jack
• Lexie Benbow-Hart as Lily

Jamie Dornan played the part of Leon Sweeney but his scenes were deleted.

Production

Development

In 2013, John Wells was set to direct a cooking comedy film, then titled Chef, with Bradley Cooper signed to star as a former Paris chef, Adam Jones. Sienna Miller signed as lead actress. Omar Sy, Jamie Dornan, Emma Thompson, Daniel Brühl, Alicia Vikander and Lily James were also set to star in the film. Dornan s appearance was later removed due to cuts and adjustments in the storyline and Lily James s role revealed to be a cameo. Dornan s scenes were added to the home release. In July 2014, it was reported that the film s title had been changed from Chef to Adam Jones, to avoid confusion with Jon Favreau s film Chef. Uma Thurman joined the cast around this time. According to Deadline Hollywood, as of July 28, 2014, Weinstein was calling the film Untitled John Wells project, until they could decide on a better title. On August 7, 2014, Matthew Rhys was added to the cast, playing chef Jones rival, Reece. In July 2015, it was announced that the film had been retitled Burnt. The movie was executive produced by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.

Filming

Principal photography on the film began July 23, 2014, in New Orleans, Louisiana, filming for two days. Production then moved to London and West London Film Studios.

Post-production

On October 2, 2014, Nick Moore was hired for the film editing job. During editing of the film, Jamie Dornan s scenes were cut from the finished version.

Marketing

The first poster, with the new title Burnt, was released on August 7, 2015. Cooper introduced a sneak peek of the film on the Today show on August 10, 2015. The Weinstein Company released the teaser trailer on August 14, 2015. On September 21, 2015, the first international trailer was released. On September 28, 2015, producers released the first full-length trailer for the film and on October 29, 2015, released a clip featuring Vikander and Cooper online.

Release

The film was scheduled to be released on October 2, 2015, but in July 2015, The Weinstein Company moved the release date to October 23, 2015. The plan then was to give the film a limited release on October 23, 2015, before a wide release on October 30, 2015. However, they cancelled the limited release plan and immediately released the film nationwide, on October 30, 2015.

Reception

Box office

Burnt grossed $13.7 million in North America and $23.0 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $36.6 million, against a budget of $20 million.

The film opened on October 30, 2015, alongside Our Brand Is Crisis and Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. In its opening weekend, the film was projected to gross $7–9 million from 3,003 theaters. However, it only ended up grossing $5 million, finishing sixth at the box office, and marking the second straight underperforming opener for Cooper, following Aloha ($9.7 million opening against its $37 million budget).

Critical response

Burnt received negative reviews from critics, who praised Cooper s performance but derided the script and storytelling. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 28%, based on 159 reviews, with an average rating of 4.90/10. The site s critical consensus reads, Burnt offers a few spoonfuls of compelling culinary drama, but they re lost in a watery goulash dominated by an unsavory main character and overdone clichés. On Metacritic, the film has a score of 42 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews . Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of B− on an A+ to F scale.

Justin Chang of Variety praised Cooper s performance but was critical of the script: Steven Knight’s script pours on the acid but holds the depth, forcing its fine actors (including Sienna Miller and Daniel Bruhl) to function less as an ensemble than as a motley sort of intervention group.

Year	2015
ReleaseDate	2015-10-30
RuntimeMins	101
RuntimeStr	1h 41min
Plot	Adam Jones is a chef who destroyed his career with drugs and diva behavior. He cleans up and returns to London, determined to redeem himself by spearheading a top restaurant that can gain three Michelin stars.
Awards	Awards, 6 wins & 1 nomination
Directors	John Wells
Writers	Steven Knight, Michael Kalesniko
Stars	Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Daniel Brühl
Produced by	David Glasser,Caroline Hewitt,Edith Dupré LeBlanc,Kristin Martini,Claire Rudnick Polstein,Gordon Ramsay,Dylan Sellers,Michael Shamberg,Stacey Sher,Erwin Stoff,Kris Thykier,Bob Weinstein,Harvey Weinstein,John Wells,Negeen Yazdi
Music by	Rob Simonsen
Cinematography by	Adriano Goldman
Film Editing by	Nick Moore
Casting By	Nina Gold
Production Design by	David Gropman
Art Direction by	Joe Howard
Set Decoration by	Tina Jones
Costume Design by	Lyn Paolo
Makeup Department	Christine Beveridge,Lacey Elliot,Lorraine Hill,Joe Hopker,Lynn Jackett,Zoe Kettel,Lori McCoy-Bell,Natasha Nikolic-Dunlop,Daniel Parker,Julio Parodi,Lisa Pemberton,Jutta Russell,Keith Sayer,Helen Speyer,Poppy Taylor
Production Management	Stephanie Bamberg,David Bell,Sheryl Benko,Stuart Burkin,Melinda Garrett,Edith Dupré LeBlanc,Cass Marks,Tom Prince,Julie Rapaport,Leslie Rodier,Emma Zee
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	Joe Barlow,Grant Butler,Batou Chandler,Ross Emery,Mark Hopkins,Alexandra Khan-Anselmo,Joy Kilpatrick,Bryn Lawrence,Desiree Stevenson,Richard Styles,Harriet Worth,Andy Young
Art Department	Yasmin Alvarez,George Ambrose,Graham Antill,Matt Askey,Eleanor Bailey,Rebecca Blake,Paul Blanchard,Andy Bottomley,Toby Browne,Carmel Cassidy,Tamara Catlin-Birch,Chris Cox,Charles Edwards,Chris Evans-Wilson,Kimberley Fahey,Rod Forbes,John Frankish,Mark Fruin,Gavin Gordon,Wayne Hammond,Matt Hancock,Rohan Harris,Rosa Harton,Jane Harwood,Aaron Holder,Mark Jones,Sophie Kosofsky,Twig Leveque,Julie Loschmann,Jamie McCallum,Brian Mccolgan,Ryan McPhail,David Meeking,Nick Milner,Ellie Murphy,Josh O Neill,Tom O Neill,Lizzie Osborne,Graeme Purdy,Victoria Rhodes,John Roberts,Malcolm Roberts,Owen Robertson,Steve Samson,Mike Scherschel,Karen Schulz Gropman,Bob Sherwood,Leonard R. Spears,Steve Street,Alice Sutton,Andrew Tapper,Sophie Tarver,Paul Taylor,Terry Taylor,Jenny Tobin,Sam Towers,Luke Townshend,Donna Turner,Richard Usher,Daniel Vincze,Robert Voysey,Georgia Warner,Catherine Whiting,Darren Wisker,Amy Grewcock
Sound Department	Mark Appleby,Jimmy Coach Armstrong,Christopher Assells,Steven Avila,Joe Barnett,Lon Bender,Tara Blume,Phil Brewster,Scott Brewster,Steve Browell,Jake Chilcott,Mark Coffey,Greg Crawford,Jeremy B. Davis,Bill R. Dean,Robert Dehn,Gary Dodkin,Julie Feiner,Kris Fenske,Albert Gasser,Judah Getz,David Giles,Glynna Grimala,Tom Harrison,Shane Hayes,Chris Hogan,Daniel S. Irwin,Nick Jimenez,Gareth John,Ando Johnson,Michael Keller,Richard Kitting,Ryan Meadows,Michael Miller,Christian P. Minkler,Chris Navarro,Tyler Newhouse,Rick Owens,Paul Paragon,Mykl Rogers,John Ross,Richard Schexnayder,Geordy Sincavage,D. Chris Smith,Seva Solntsev,Olivia Souder,Patrick Spain,John C. Stuver,Oliver Tarney,Mike Tehrani,Gretchen Thoma,Masanobu Tomi Tomita,Paulette Victor-Lifton,Trevor Ward,Ryan Wassil,Tom Whetmore,Matthew Wilson,Josephine Nericcio,Sal Ojeda,Brian Straub
Special Effects by	Tony Auger,Kevin Draycott,Mark Hava,Slobodan Velickovic
Visual Effects by	Michael Ashton,Jennie Bozic,Jon Caldwell,Michael Caplan,Angelo Caruso,Padraic Culham,Mary Dowd,Eric Heavens,Louise Keating,Ntana Bantu Key,Hong Kim,Diana LeBost,Dave Piedra,Chris Reilly,Michael Roderick,Dan Schmit,Ian Shulman,Steve Street,Corinne Villa
Stunts	Lee Bagley,Ted Barba,Jay Caputo,Matt Cipro,Ray De-Haan,Jim Dowdall,Paul Herbert,Rod Tait Humphreys,Rob Hunt,Nick Melson,Peewee Piemonte,Chris St. Omer
Camera and Electrical Department	John Antill,Grayson Austin,Alex Bailey,Darren Bailey,Jacob Barrie,Tim Battersby,Jack Bentley,Hans Bjerno,Nicholas Britt,Gareth Brough,Joshua Callis-Smith,Steven Casali,Gilly Charbonnet,Alex Coverley,Ross Emery,Steve Fitzpatrick,Bryan Fletchall,Jack Glascodine,Tom Graham,Tom Grahams,Brian Greenway,Yale Gropman,Richard Harrowing,Christian Hayes,Matthew Hickin,Michael D. Kennedy,Aaran Lewis Leach,Andy Lowe,John Malaney,Nathan Mann,David Maund,Griffin McCann,Guy McCormack,Andrea Michelon,Chris Moten,John Paxton,Erion Pemaj,Jared W. Petticrew,Pawel Polak,Nathan Porter,Duncan Riedl,Bill Rae Smith,Ian Speed,Chris Stones,Daniel Stones,Simon Surtees,Jim van Dijk,Jason Vowell,Joe Waistell,Robert White,Michael Wood
Casting Department	Jay Benedict,Patty Connolly,Lauren Evans,Dann Fink,Meagan Lewis,Aaron Sampson,Phoebe Scholfield,Mark Sussman
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Sophie Canale,Genevieve Cox,Sarah Dutton,Ian Foweraker,Teddy George-Poku,Mia Gray,Jenny Hawkins,Alicia Hood,Vandra Howard,Samantha Kent,Julie Loschmann,Hilary Mills,Geidre Mockeliunaite,Katie Smith,Jo Stobbs,Kieron Stone,Barbara Sweryda,Lupt Utama,Allison Wyldeck
Editorial Department	Brad Besser,Luke Clare,Marisa Clayton,Alexis Corrigan,David Croom,Mark Czyzewski,Rob Doolittle,Nicholas Hasson,Michael Hatzer,Amar Ingreji,Chris Jensen,Corey S. Johnsen,Sushila Love,Silvia Silva,Corinne Villa,Darin Wooldridge,Matt Evans,Mariah Breitel Hembree,Everette Webber
Location Management	David Bell,Bruno Cassoni,Eleanor Downey,Charlie French,Michael Harm,Karin Kavanagh,Chris Kennedy,Patricia Nelkin,M. Gerard Sellers,Asha Sharma,Charlie Somers,Ruby Whitelocke,Josh Yudkin,Lenart Cernilogar
Music Department	Laurence Anslow,Clint Bennett,Daniel Bhattacharya,Duncan Blickenstaff,Celeste Chada,Jo Changer,Bruno Coon,Michael Daniels,Neal Desby,Andrew Dudman,Brett Farkas,Richard Glasser,Gavin Greenaway,Marcel Dios Herrera,Hillary Holmes,Connor Hughes,Skaila Kanga,Darren King,Taylor Lipari-Hassett,Steve Mair,Vicky Matthews,Thomas Milano,Perry Montague-Mason,Everton Nelson,Adam Olmsted,Michael Patterson,Dana Sano,Ben Schor,Rob Simonsen,Jill Streater,Edward Trybek,Libby Umstead,Allen Walley,Christopher Wray,Warren Zielinski,Mark Berrow,Rachel Bolt
Script and Continuity Department	Leslie Garza,Jane Jackson,Alexandra Khan-Anselmo
Transportation Department	Danny Chamberlain,Kamil Cieslak,Spencer Collins,Thomas Dewey,Mark Dilliway,Paul Frederickson,Jeffrey Gowing,James Grout,Jerry Hamshar,Rob Hempenstall,Charles Hodgson,George Kapetanios,Brian Kelly,Piotr Krawczuk,Marco Parkin,Chris Popham,Jeffrey Roberts,Michael Roberts,Amanda Skiffington,Bohdan Stoklasa,Stageleft Transport,Trevor Wakeman,Micky Watts,Macaulay Wilson
Additional Crew	Laura Anderson,Sashi Arnold,Richard Banks,Craig Barwick,Mario Batali,Emma Bendell,Georgia Benjamin,Scott Berridge,Andy Bilby,Julie Brinkman,Jason Buchanan,Jacob Burke,Johnny Calloway,Brett Carter,Fred Bonham Carter,Marjorie Chodorov,Prabhat Choudhary,Sandra Constantine,Todd Crockett,Kevin J. Cybulski,Mark Dillen,Alexandra Doyle,Charles Edwards,Zack Earl Edwards,Mary Frances Eglin,Tina Ellis,Sophie Anna Everhard,Cliff Fleming,Cory Fleming,Alex Galbate,Linda Gamble,Joe Gardner,Kya Garwood,Bernadette Gonzales,Seldy Gray,Savannah Greene,Tessie Groff,Jeremiah Hansen,Fiona Harper,Tarn Harper,Ned Haspel,Joe Hennessy,Nicole Herft,Sam Horton,Adam Hughes,Tony Hyde,Angharad Jones,Laura King,Katy Lake,Margaret Lancaster,Kim Latour,Arif Macaco,Emma Mager,Rod Marsh,Donnie McCormick,Nikki Mezaros,David Midgen,Harry Minter,Michael Moncreiff,Amar Morjaria,Eleanor Morrison,Josh Perrault,Frederic Perrin,Neil Pierson,Gordon Ramsay,Chloé Montana Rash,Valerie Milenka Repnau,Claire Robertson,Tyler Samardick,Lucy Scarfe,Amber Sheffield,Sarah Sobel,Amelia Southgate,Joe Starrs,Adam M. Stone,Cat Stone,Terrence Stone,Ewan Taylor,Sarah Turner,Marina Tyndall,Gianpiero Vannucci,Charlie Vaughan,Grayson Ward,Marcus Wareing,Ian Watermeier,Robert S. Wilhelm Jr.,Richard Wulf,Fabien Enjalric
Thanks	Björn Bonnes,Brett Graham,Jeff Katz,Mark Ladner,Gordon Ramsay,Clare Smyth
Genres	Comedy, Drama
Companies	3 Arts Entertainment, Double Feature Films, PeaPie Films
Countries	USA, UK
Languages	English, French, Italian
ContentRating	R
ImDbRating	6.6
ImDbRatingVotes	118218
MetacriticRating	42
Keywords	chef,restaurant,michelin star,waste of food,cook