If food movies have taught me anything, it's that the key to spectacular cooking is balance. (Food movies have also taught me that life is a meaningless struggle to produce beauty that people will devour or dismiss, and that emotions are more communicable than salmonella. Food movies: educational!) Balance is the difference between perfectly seasoned and disgustingly salty; the difference between quietly sweet and unbearably twee. Balance is the hallmark of Mostly Martha.

But maybe more than anything, balance informs every loving, nearly-pornographic shot of the tidiest restaurant in the entire world.

Hi, Fair Food Fighters! I'm a film nerd who's been invited to talk about movies: movies about food, movies featuring food, and movies featuring people as food (what? We taste like chicken!).

Despite the sensory loss, movies are still suited to gastronomy; food's so symbolic it's easy to plot around it. Some food movies manage more plot than others, and some do food more justice than others, but even in movies where food isn't crucial, there's meaning behind the meal.

Take the mother of all food films: Babette's Feast.