بخش 01

Although each of the world’s countries would like to dispute this fact, we French know the truth:

The best food in the world is made in France.

The best food in France is made in Paris.

And the best food in Paris, some say, is made by Chef Auguste Gusteau.

Gusteau’s restaurant is the toast of Paris, booked five months in advance.

And his dazzling ascent to the top of fine French cuisine has made his competitors envious.

He is the youngest chef ever to achieve a five-star rating.

Chef Gusteau’s cookbook, Anyone Can Cook!

Climbed to the top of the bestseller list.

But not everyone celebrates its success.

Amusing title, Anyone Can Cook!

What’s even more amusing is that Gusteau actually seems to believe it.

I, on the other hand, take cooking seriously.

And, no, I don’t think anyone can do it.

This is me.

I think it’s apparent I need to rethink my life a little bit.

What’s my problem?

First of all, I’m a rat.

Which means life is hard.

And second, I have a highly developed sense of taste and smell.

Flour, eggs, sugar, vanilla bean…

Oh! Small twist of lemon.

Whoa, you can smell all that? You have a gift.

This is Emile, my brother.

He’s easily impressed.

So you can smell ingredients? So what?

This is my dad. He’s never impressed.

He also happens to be the leader of our clan.

So, what’s wrong with having highly developed senses?

• Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don’t eat that!
• What’s going on here?

Turns out that funny smell was rat poison.

Suddenly, Dad didn’t think my talent was useless.

I was feeling pretty good about my gift, until Dad gave me a job.

Clean.

Clean.

That’s right. Poison checker.

Cleanerific.

Cleanerino.

Close to godliness.

Which means clean.

You know, cleanliness is close to…

Never mind. Move on.

Well, it made my dad proud.

Now, don’t you feel better, Remy? You’ve helped a noble cause.

Noble? We’re thieves, Dad.

And what we’re stealing is, let’s face it, garbage.

It isn’t stealing if no one wants it.

If no one wants it, why are we stealing it?

Let’s just say we have different points of view.

This much I knew: If you are what you eat, then I only want to eat the good stuff.

But to my dad…

Food is fuel.

You get picky about what you put in the tank, your engine is gonna die.

Now shut up and eat your garbage.

Look, if we’re going to be thieves, why not steal the good stuff in the kitchen, where nothing is poisoned?

First of all, we are not thieves.

Secondly, stay out of the kitchen and away from the humans.

It’s dangerous.

I know I’m supposed to hate humans, but there’s something about them.

They don’t just survive. They discover, they create.

I mean, just look at what they do with food.

How can I describe it?

Good food is like music you can taste, color you can smell.

There is excellence all around you.

You need only be aware to stop and savor it.

Oh, Gusteau was right.

Oh, mmm, yeah.

Oh, amazing.

Each flavor was totally unique.

But combine one flavor with another, and something new was created.

So now I had a secret life.

The only one who knew about it was Emile.

Hey, Emile. Emile.

I found a mushroom.

Come on, you’re good at hiding food.

Help me find a good place to put this.

He doesn’t understand me, but I can be myself around him.

Why are you walking like that?

I don’t want to constantly have to wash my paws.

Did you ever think about how we walk on the same paws that we handle food with?

You ever think about what we put into our mouths?

All the time.

When I eat, I don’t want to taste everywhere my paws have been.

Well, go ahead.

But if Dad sees you walking like that, he’s not going to like it.

What have you got there?

You found cheese?

And not just any cheese.

Tomme de chevre de pays!

That would go beautifully with my mushroom.

And…

This rosemary! This rosemary with maybe with a few drops from this sweet grass.

Well, throw it on the pile, I guess, and then we’ll… You know…

We don’t want to throw this in with the garbage. This is special.

But we’re supposed to return to the colony before sundown or, you know, Dad’s gonna…

There are possibilities unexplored here.

We got to cook this.

Now, exactly how we cook this is the real question…

Yeah.

The key is to keep turning it.

Get the smoky flavor nice and even.

That storm’s getting closer.

Hey, Remy, you think that maybe we shouldn’t be so…

You got to taste this!

This is… It’s got this kind of…

It’s burny, melty…

It’s not really a smoky taste.

It’s a certain… It’s kind of like a…

It’s got, like, this “ba-boom, zap” kind of taste. Don’t you think?

• What would you call that flavor?
• Lightning-y?

Yeah. It’s lightning-y! We got to do that again.

Okay, when the next storm comes, we’ll go up on the roof…

I know what this needs! Saffron! A little saffron would make this!

Saffron. Why do I get the feeling it’s in the kitchen? It’s in the kitchen.

• Saffron.

• Not good.

Saffron.

Don’t like it. She’s gonna wake up.

I’ve been down here a million times.

She turns on the cooking channel, boom, she never wakes up.

You’ve been here a million times?

I’m telling you, saffron will be just the thing. Gusteau swears by it.

Okay. Who’s Gusteau?

Just the greatest chef in the world.

Wrote this cookbook.

Wait. You read?

• Well, not excessively.

• Oh, man. Does Dad know?

You could fill a book, a lot of books, with things Dad doesn’t know.

And they have, which is why I read.

Which is also our secret.

I don’t like secrets.

All this cooking and reading and TV-watching while we read and cook.

It’s like you’re involving me in crime, and I let you.

Why do I let you?

What’s taking those kids so long?

Ah, I’Aquila saffron. Italian. Huh?

Gusteau says it’s excellent.

Good thing the old lady is a food love…

Hey! That’s Gusteau. Emile, look.

Great cooking is not for the faint of heart.

You must be imaginative, strong hearted.

You must try things that may not work.

And you must not let anyone define your limits because of where you come from.

Your only limit is your soul.

What I say is true. Anyone can cook.

But only the fearless can be great.

Pure poetry.

But it was not to last.

Gusteau’s restaurant lost one of its five stars after a scathing review by France’s top food critic, Anton Ego.

It was a severe blow to Gusteau, and the brokenhearted chef died shortly afterwards, which, according to tradition, meant the loss of another star.

Gusteau is dead?

Run!

No, you’ll lead her to the colony!

• Help, Remy, help!
• Emile! Start swinging the light!

Try to grab you.

Emile, swing to me.