From Ratatouille to Harry Potter: The 10 Most Iconic Movie Meals

The Great Hall Feast – Harry Potter

If you’re a fan of the Wizarding World, then you probably know that the Great Feast takes place in nearly all the Harry Potter films, marking the start of the school year at Hogwarts. It occurs on the very first night at school, after students disembark the Hogwarts Express, and kicks off all the magical mayhem to come.

First, new students are broken up into their Hogwarts houses by the Sorting Hat. Then, during the meal, they’re introduced to each other, as well as staff members. And obviously, there’s plenty of food to go around.

Once-empty plates are magically stacked with dishes prepared by house-elves, from roast chicken and lamb chops to steak, mashed potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, veggies, and, of course, dessert. Then, as soon as the Great Feast ends, the grub is cleared in the blink of an eye.

Imaginary Meal – Hook

In 1991, the legendary fantasy film Hook, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams, hit theaters. It follows the adult Peter Pan as he returns to Neverland and confronts Captain James Hook for kidnapping his kids.

But while this sequel to J.M. Barrie’s classic tale is already packed with plenty of plot intrigue, one of the most memorable scenes is arguably the imaginary meal. First of all, grown Peter chows down on all sorts of silly, colorful foods, such as rainbow pies and massive cheese wheels.

Ratatouille – Ratatouille

A young rat named Remy quickly stole the hearts of children and adults everywhere in Ratatouille, the beloved 2007 animated film. Despite being a rodent, he dreams of becoming a chef and forms an unexpected alliance with Alfredo Linguini, a garbage boy at a famous Parisian restaurant.

Now, even if you haven’t had the pleasure of watching this movie, you’d probably guess that the dish Remy eventually whips up is, well, ratatouille. However, the meal featured in the film is technically something different: French fare known as Confit Byaldi. This baked version of ratatouille consists of thinly sliced zucchini, eggplant, squash, and tomatoes arranged in a spiral and sitting in a peppery tomato sauce.

I know: it’s probably not a dish most children would willingly try if prepared by their mom or dad at home. Nonetheless, on-screen, it definitely piqued viewers’ interests, along with other culinary creations in the film, like Remy’s skewers and Linguini’s potato leek soup.

The Prison Meal – Goodfellas

Most people serving time behind bars aren’t afforded much choice over their sustenance. But members of the mafia are treated differently, at least according to the 1990 thriller Goodfellas.

Starring incredible actors like Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, and Joe Pesci, the film follows Brooklyn teen Henry Hill as he gets wrapped up in the underbelly of mob life. Then, he eventually gets caught during a Miami heist and receives a 10-year prison sentence. But time in the slammer isn’t the only thing he gets served.

That’s because, with the guards in his pocket, Henry gets to indulge in a classic Italian meal that remains a key scene in Hollywood history and almost made moviegoers forget the mobsters were in jail at all.

“In prison, dinner was a great occasion. There was always a pasta course and a main course of meat or fish,” Henry said.

“When you think of prison, you think of those old movies where you see all those people complaining behind bars, but it wasn’t like that for us goodfellas.”

Limo Pizza – Home Alone 2

Think back to when you were 10 years old. Wouldn’t a trip around New York City in a limousine while eating pizza seem like the best day ever? Probably!

That’s the luxury Kevin McCallister got to enjoy in Home Alone 2, after he winds up alone in the Big Apple for the holidays. Once separated from his family, he stays at the picturesque Plaza Hotel. And one day, upon exiting the high-rise, he’s met with a white stretch limo and a hot cheese pizza that are calling his name.

Inside, he pops open a cold Coca-Cola, puts Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! on the vehicle’s snazzy TV, and sits back with a whole pie to himself as he rides around Manhattan to go Christmas shopping. Even as an adult, I’d kill for such an outing.

Spirited Away

In 2001, Hayao Miyazaki wrote and directed the Japanese animated fantasy film Spirited Away. The protagonist, Chihiro, is a 10-year-old girl who visits what seems to be an abandoned amusement park with her parents. But things go awry after her parents are transformed into pigs, and Chihiro learns the park is actually a refuge for supernatural entities who need time away from Earth. And in order to free herself, her mom, and her dad, she has to get to work at a new job.

This movie became super popular for a few main reasons: its detailed animation, close attention to Japanese folklore, and, of course, the depiction of delectable food. Most of it is traditional fare, too, from onigiri rice balls to sushi platters and even sweet potatoes roasted slowly over hot stones.

Chocolate Croissants - It's Complicated

In 2009, Nancy Meyers wrote and directed the romantic comedy It’s Complicated. The film follows Jane Adler, a successful bakery owner rediscovering herself after divorce, just as she begins an unexpected romance with Adam, an architect played by Steve Martin.

One of the film’s most charming scenes takes place in Jane’s bakery, where the two attempt to make chocolate croissants together. Meryl Street as Jane looks like she's having the time of her life.

What makes the scene memorable isn’t the pastry itself—it’s the intimacy of doing something ordinary together. Their connection grows as they sprinkle flour, play with dough, and just get silly together. By the time the croissants are in the oven, the date has already been a win.

Grilled Cheese – Chef

Jon Favreau wrote, produced, and directed the 2014 film Chef, which, spoiler alert, centers on a celebrity chef who gets into a tiff with a food critic, quits his LA restaurant job, and starts running a food truck instead. He’s joined by many other notable cast mates, too, including John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Sofía Vergara, and even Robert Downey Jr.

Still, one of the most mouth-watering scenes has to be when Jon Favreau’s character, Carl Casper, prepares a gooey grilled cheese.

As a kid, grilled cheeses were my go-to meal. But while they might seem simple, I was pretty picky about having the cheese melted perfectly, and the bread toasted just right. And in Chef,

it’s safe to say that Carl got it right, blending a mix of cheddar, Gruyere, and Parmesan on buttery sourdough to create the classic comfort food we all know and love.

Turkish Delights – The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe

C.S. Lewis penned The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe in 1950, and it gave rise to the first film in the Narnia series decades later in 2005. Without giving too much away, four siblings stumble upon a magical wardrobe portal that leads to Narnia, a land under an eternal winter spell cast by the evil White Witch.

Yet, one of the siblings, Edmund, winds up betraying his siblings in order to get one of his favorite sweets: a Turkish Delight offered to him by none other than the White Witch herself. And honestly, who could blame him?

The traditional confection is made from sugar and starch, has a gummy texture, and can come in a variety of flavors, like lemon, rose, or pistachio. Plus, in Edmund’s case, the Turkish Delight was enchanted, making it extremely addictive. But even without a magical vex, wouldn’t you have trouble putting down the dessert?

Literally All The Candy – Willy Wonka

Since 1971, there have been multiple iterations of the classic Wonka tale, from the initial Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory starring Gene Wilder to 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and, most recently, Wonka, featuring Timothée Chalamet in 2023.

No matter which movie left its mark on your childhood, though, we can all agree that every single piece of candy portrayed in the films looked downright delicious. And we simply couldn’t write about the best movie meals of all time without calling at least a few out.

There’s obviously the iconic Wonka Bar. But we can’t forget about the Three-Course Dinner Chewing Gum that made you want to skip dinner, the Everlasting Gobstopper (which was the king of all jawbreakers), and even the Lickable Wallpaper that perhaps encouraged bad behavior but tasted fruity anyway.