''The God of Cookery'' () is a 1996 Hong Kong

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

which was co-directed by

Stephen Chow Stephen Chow Sing-chi (; born 22 June 1962) is a Hong Kong filmmaker and former actor, known for his mo lei tau comedy. His career began in television, where he gained recognition through variety shows and TV dramas. Chow's breakthrough came in 1 ...

and

Lee Lik-chi Lee Lik-chi (李力持) (born 10 May 1961) is a Hong Kong–based actor, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Stephen Chow before disassociating each other due to frequent clashes. He is also an active contrib ...

. The film features an ensemble cast include Stephen Chow,

Karen Mok Karen Joy Morris (; born 2 June 1970), better known as Karen Mok, is a Hong Kong actress and singer. She is considered one of the leading East Asian pop singers and actresses with a career spanning three decades. Mok is the first female Hong Kong ...

Vincent Kok Vincent Kok Tak-chiu (; born 15 August 1965) is a Hong Kong actor, scriptwriter and film director. Vincent's ancestral hometown is Shandong province. Kok is best known for his frequent collaborations with Stephen Chow, acting and co-writing w ...

and

Richard Ng Richard Ng Yiu-hon (27 December 1939 – 9 April 2023), also known as Richard Woo, was a Hongkongers, Hong Kong actor known for playing comedic roles, particularly in Hong Kong films of the 1980s and 1990s. Film and television career Ng a ...

Synopsis

Stephen Chow is a corrupt

celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in Books, printed publications. While telev ...

who runs a successful business empire. Dubbed the "God of Cookery", he humiliates other chefs in a culinary competition where he appears as a judge, despite knowing very little about cooking himself. Bull Tong, posing as an understudy and conspiring with Chow's business partner, exposes Chow as a fraud and is declared the new "God of Cookery", taking over Chow's empire. Ruined, Chow arrives at Temple Street where he orders a bowl of " assorted noodles" from disfigured food cart vendor Turkey, reveals himself to be the fallen "God of Cookery", and asks her for money. Thugs beat him for his panhandling, but Turkey orders them away, taking pity on Chow and giving him a bowl of barbecue pork on rice, moving Chow to tears. Turkey and her rival street vendor Goosehead are engaged in

gang warfare A gang is a group or society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectiv ...

, both trying to monopolise the sale of

beef ball Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often ground or minced, as found i ...

s and "pissing" shrimp in the area. Chow unites them by combining the two dishes into "Pissing Beef Balls", which becomes a huge success. The vendors convince Chow to enrol in a culinary school in order to reclaim his lost title, revealing that Turkey still worships him as the "God of Cookery", receiving her scars from fighting a gang member who once insulted a picture of Chow. The success of "Pissing Beef Balls" alarms Bull, who arranges for Chow to be assassinated. While searching for the school, Chow finds that Turkey has followed him. Turkey asks Chow to complete a drawing of a heart for her to remember him by, but Chow callously rebuffs Turkey, saying he never asked for any of the sacrifices she made for him. As the assassin approaches, Turkey is shot trying to protect Chow, and both are assumed dead. One month later, Bull enters the "God of Cookery" competition (a parody of ''

Iron Chef is a Japanese television cooking show produced by Fuji Television. The series, which premiered on October 10, 1993, is a stylized cook-off featuring guest chefs challenging one of the show's resident "Iron Chefs" in a timed cooking battle buil ...

'') as the heavy favourite to retain his title. Chow arrives at the competition and reveals what had happened: Chow escaped the assassin and found his way to the

Shaolin Monastery Shaolin Monastery ( zh, labels=no, c=少林寺, p=shàolínsì), also known as Shaolin Temple, is a monastic institution recognized as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and the cradle of Shaolin kung fu. It is located at the foot of Wuru Peak o ...

, where he was nursed back to health by the abbot ''Wet Dream'' (a spoof on the Chinese word for nocturnal

spermatorrhea Spermatorrhea is a condition of excessive, involuntary seminal discharge. In several cultures, this referred to ejaculation outside of certain approved sexual practices and was thus a subjective term. A more modern medical definition is the exce ...

). The culinary school Chow had been searching for was in fact the monastery's kitchen, Bull being an escaped monk who had once trained there. The abbot, witnessing Chow's remorse, allowed him to leave the monastery. Chow and Tong compete by making identical " Buddha Jumping Wall" dishes, each trying to sabotage the other in comedic

wuxia ( , literally "martial arts and chivalry") is a genre of Chinese literature, Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fantasy literature, its popularity ha ...

fashion. Chow's dish is destroyed by a hidden bomb planted by his former business partner. With little time remaining, Chow prepares a dish of barbecue pork rice, and names it " Sorrowful Rice". Despite it being the better dish, the judge, having been blackmailed, declares Bull the winner. Chow remarks that there is no one "God of Cookery" and that any person who cooks with heart can be the "God of Cookery". In an act of

divine intervention Divine intervention is an event that occurs when a deity (i.e. God or gods) becomes actively involved in changing some situation in human affairs. In contrast to other kinds of divine action, the expression "divine ''intervention''" implies that ...

, the Imperial Court of Heaven descends upon the competition and reveals that in a previous life, Chow was an assistant to the

Kitchen God Kitchen gods are mythical beings that represent abstract concepts such as luck or just propel the minor changes of everyday life. Little things that cannot be explained, such as losing small objects like socks in the laundry, are often attribut ...

, before being sent to Earth to live as a human as punishment for revealing culinary secrets to mankind. The deities declare that the Jade Emperor, moved by Chow's penitence, has pardoned him. They then transform Chow's former business partner into a bulldog and perforate Bull's chest with a large hole. After the competition, Chow reunites with and celebrates Christmas with his vendor friends on Temple Street, where Goosehead reveals that Turkey had in fact survived the assassination. Having caught the bullet meant for Chow with her gold-plated teeth and thereafter received reconstructive surgery, Turkey arrives and asks Chow how she looks. Chow responds by throwing her the completed drawing of two arrow-pierced hearts.

Cast

as 'Stephen Chow' (史提芬周 ''Sitaifan Chow'') *

as Turkey (火雞, ''Fo Gai'') /

Guanyin Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...

as Bull Tong (唐牛, ''Tong Ngau'') *

Ng Man-tat Richard Ng Man-tat (, 2 January 1952 – 27 February 2021), commonly called Uncle Tat (), was a Hong Kong actor originally from Fujian. He was a veteran with dozens of awards in the Cinema of Hong Kong , Hong Kong film industry, including Hon ...

as Uncle *

Lee Siu-Kei Lee Siu-kei (; 4 December 1949 – 2 June 2019) was a Hong Kong actor, scriptwriter and producer. He was a triad member and served as consultant for many Hong Kong triad movies. Lee left organized crime after being invited to act by director ...

as Goosehead (鵝頭, ''Ngo Tau'') *

Tats Lau Tats Lau Yee-Tat (; born 23 February 1963) is a Hong Kong musician, songwriter and actor. Music career During the 1980s, Tats Lau was active in Hong Kong's independent music scene. He established several underground bands including DLLM and OE ...

as Wet Dream (夢遺, ''Mung Wai'') *

Christy Chung Christy Chung (born 19 September 1970) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for starring in films '' Mermaid Got Married'', '' The Bodyguard from Beijing'', ''Love on Delivery'' and '' Jan Dara''. Early life Chung was born in Montreal, Quebec, ...

as the girl in the dream sequence (cameo) *

Nancy Sit Nancy Sit Ka-yin ( zh, 薛家燕; born 30 March 1950) is a Hong Kong actress on the TVB network. Her acting career dated back to the 1960s, when she was a popular teen idol alongside Connie Chan Po-chu, and Josephine Siao. Sit recorded many ...

as herself (cameo) *

Lee Kin-yan Lee Kin-yan (; born 12 May 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, who frequently makes comic cameo appearances in Stephen Chow's films, as a cross-dressing man with a finger up his nose known as Yu Fa (Chinese: 如花; Cantonese: yu fa; Mandarin: ru2 hua ...

as the nose-picking transvestite (cameo) *

Law Kar-ying Dr Law Kar-ying (born September 22, 1946) is a Hong Kong Cantonese opera singer and actor. Background Born Law Hang-tong on September 22 (August 27 Lunar), 1946 in Shunde, Guangdong as the eldest son of actor Law Kar-kuen (羅家權) and his ...

as competition host *

Stephen Au Stephen Au Kam-tong (born 26 April 1963) is a Hong Kong actor for TVB (2000–present). He was formerly an actor for ATV (1990–2000). He played David Mo (武紀勇) in TVB sitcom Best Selling Secrets (2007–2008). He also played the role ...

as emcee for Stephen *

Lam Suet Lam Suet (; born 1964), or Lin Xue, is a Hong Kong film actor. Life and career Lam was born in Tianjin, and came to Hong Kong as a youth in 1979 to receive inheritance money left by his grandfather. Soon after, all the money had been squander ...

as Fat Snow *

Tin Kai-Man Tin Kai-Man, also spelled Tin Kai-mun, is a Hong Kong actor and production manager, most notable for his role in '' Shaolin Soccer''. A well-known friend of Stephen Chow, he began acting in his films with the 1994 '' Hail the Judge''. Tin also wo ...

as Turkey's gang with green hair *

Kingdom Yuen Kingdom Yuen King-dan (苑瓊丹; born 11 September 1963) is a Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a te ...

as Fortune teller (cameo)

In-film references

* The scenes in the Buddhist monastery reference ''

18 Bronzemen ''18 Bronzemen'' is a 1975 Hong Kong kung fu film directed by Joseph Kuo. It is a Shaolin-themed film concerning their battles against the Qing Dynasty. A sequel, called ''Return of the 18 Bronzemen'', followed and was released in the same ...

'', as the monks call themselves the "18 Brassmen". * " Sorrowful Rice" ( 黯然銷魂飯) is a reference to

Yang Guo Yang Guo, courtesy name Gaizhi, is the fictional protagonist of the wuxia novel '' The Return of the Condor Heroes'' by Jin Yong. Birth and heritage Yang Guo traces his lineage to Yang Zaixing, a Song general who participated in the Jin–So ...

's Melancholic Palms (黯然銷魂掌) technique. The final battle between Chow and Bull Tong itself contains a couple of tongue-in-cheek references to

Jin Yong Louis Cha Leung-yung (; 10 March 1924 – 30 October 2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong (), was a Hong Kong wuxia novelist and co-founder of '' Ming Pao.'' Cha authored 15 novels between 1955 and 1972 and became one of the most pop ...

's (Louis Cha) ''

The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber ''The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber'', also translated as ''The Sword and the Knife'', is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong, Jin Yong (Louis Cha) and the third part of the ''Condor Trilogy'', preceded by ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' and ''The Re ...

'' and ''

The Legend of the Condor Heroes ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' () is a wuxia novel by Chinese writer Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It is the first part of the ''Condor Trilogy'' and is followed by ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' and ''The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber''. I ...

'' in the original Cantonese dialogue, which is however obscured in the English subtitles.

Canceled Remake

In 1998, director and star Stephen Chow planned to remake ''God of Cookery'' for English markets with

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian and American actor and comedian. Known primarily for his energetic slapstick performances, he has received two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for BAFTA Awards and ...

playing the lead role. The film was being adapted into English by writer

Marc Hyman Marc Hyman is an American screenwriter. His writing credits include Universal's ''Meet the Fockers'', Paramount's '' The Perfect Score'', Warner Bros.'s ''Osmosis Jones'', and Open Road Films' '' Show Dogs''. He has served as a script doctor for ...

, and film rights were purchased by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

, but the film failed to come to fruition.

References

External links

*
''The GOD of Cookery''
at

Hong Kong Cinemagic Hong Kong Cinemagic, sometimes referred to as HKCinemagic, was a bilingual ( French and English) website providing a repository for information about Chinese language films from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, and the people who created them. The we ...