Bradley Cooper’s performance in a poorly-reviewed movie, Burnt, receives a near-perfect accuracy score from chef Paul Liebrandt. Directed by ER‘s John Wells and written by Peaky Blinders‘ Steven Knight, the 2015 film follows a top chef named Adam Jones who, after drugs and alcohol destroyed his career, gets a second chance to fulfill his dream of earning three Michelin stars as the head chef of a fine dining restaurant. Other than Cooper, the cast includes Sienna Miller, Omar Sy, Daniel Brühl, Matthew Rhys, Riccardo Scamarcio, Alicia Vikander, Uma Thurman, and Emma Thompson.

In a video from Insider, Liebrandt reviewed fine-dining scenes from film and television, including Adam Jones’ pursuit to receive three Michelin stars in Burnt. Watch the portion of the video below:

The Michelin-star chef shared some mixed thoughts on the scene, though he praised Cooper’s performance, saying “he did a really good job.” Ultimately, Liebrandt rated the scene from Burnt a near-perfect 9/10 for accuracy. Read his full comments below:

The Michelin guide, I would say because it’s been around over 100 years, one two or three stars Michelin is the format, I mean you can be in the guide and not have stars, but the starring guide, it’s very sought-after. As far as the criteria of looking at, one orders a tasting menu, one orders à la carte, no. They come before 7:30, no. A lot of that stuff is hearsay. Regarding the rating of the Michelin, they’re looking for consistency, so they don’t come in once and say that’s it, so it’s definitely to do with the service, the food the ambience, the wine, service, the greeting, the goodbye, the bathrooms, is everything to the satisfactory standards and the very high standards to attain the three Michelin stars.

In my experience, obviously, of attaining stars in the Michelin guide, the way chef Bradley is working in the kitchen is very true to form for winning the three-star Michelin, which he’s going for. Look, I’m the same way when Michelin is in the house, I’m not standing back and going, “Go for it guys.” I am leading. I know he worked with a friend of mine in London. He worked with Gordon Ramsay for a little bit to gain the experience of like, what’s it like doing it. So I think he did a really good job. I would rate this scene a 9 out of 10.

How Accurate Is Burnt?

It’s Highly Accurate Despite Poor Reviews

Liebrandt giving Burnt a near-perfect 9/10 accuracy score is somewhat surprising considering the overall negative reaction to the movie. Burnt reviews praised the film for serving up spoonfuls of compelling culinary drama, though they are diluted in a bland stew and overshadowed by an unlikable protagonist and overused clichés, resulting in a poor 28% score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics. Burnt‘s box-office performance wasn’t notable either, making $36 million on a $20 million budget and earning a 45% audience score on RT.

However, the scene that Liebrandt reviewed from Burnt does depict the pursuit of Michelin stars with a high degree of accuracy. The near-perfect 9/10 score he gave to Burnt is considerably higher than the 6/10 he gave to FX’s critically acclaimed culinary drama, The Bear, which just recently featured a cameo from Bradley Cooper’s Adam Jones. At the beginning of The Bear season 3 finale, Carmy looks at a collage of photos commemorating everyone who worked at Chef Terry’s restaurant, one of which is of Bradley Cooper’s Adam Jones.

Overall, according to Liebrandt, the scene in Burnt does depict the pursuit of Michelin stars with a high degree of accuracy, a similar pursuit that Carmy and Sydney embark on in The Bear season 3. However, as Liebrandt mentions, Burnt does simplify the process of earning Michelin stars. In reality, achieving even one or more stars is an extremely challenging and often years-long process that involves rigorous and anonymous inspections. While Burnt was poorly received by both audiences and critics, it does effectively capture the high-pressure environment and relentless pursuit of excellence in fine dining.

Source: Insider