[music]
[chewing]
[sniffling]
[music]
[chewing]
[pen clatters]
[chewing] [moaning]
[music]
[chewing] [moaning]
[grunting] No, it can't be.
[door bursts] Who cooks the ratatouille?!
I demand to know!
[gasp]
[glasses drop]
[door open] [grunts]
[grunts]
[door slams]
I can't remember the last time
I asked a waiter to give my compliments to the chef.
[smack]
And now I find myself in the extraordinary position
of having my waiter be the chef.
Thanks, but I'm just your waiter tonight.
Then who do I thank for the meal?
Uh, excuse me a minute.
[distant arguing]
[door slams]
[music]
You must be the che--
If you wish to meet the chef,
you will have to wait until all the other customers have gone.
[music]
So be it.
[music]
At first, Ego thinks it's a joke,
but as Linguini explains, Ego's smile disappears.
[indistinctive conversation]
He doesn't react beyond asking an occasional question.
And when the story is done, Ego stands, thanks us for the meal--
Thank you for the meal.
--and leaves without another word.
The following day his review appears.
In many ways, the work of a critic is easy.
We risk very little,
yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work
and their selves to our judgement.
We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read.
But the bitter truth we critics must face
is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk
is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.
But there are times when a critic truly risks something
and that is in the discovery and defense of the new.
The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations.
The new needs friends.
Last night I experienced something new:
an extraordinary meal from an singularly unexpected source.
To say that both the meal and its maker
have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking,
is a gross understatement.
They have rocked me to my core.
In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain
for Chef Gusteau's famous motto: "Anyone Can Cook."
But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant.
Not everyone can become a great artist,
but a great artist can come from anywhere.
It is difficult to imagine more humble origins
than those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau's,
who is, in this critic's opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France.
I will be returning to Gusteau's soon, hungry for more.