‘Ratatouille’ Sparked Patton Oswalt’s Friendship With Anthony Bourdain: “He Was A Huge Fan”

The late Anthony Bourdain may have been a celebrity chef, author, and beloved cooking legend, but he was also known for being a huge movie buff. Though he may have counted Goodfellas, The 400 Blows and Apocalypse Now among his favorite films of all time, another may have just been revealed: the 2007 Pixar film Ratatouille.

This week on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, actor Patton Oswalt revealed that he began a friendship with Bourdain after the famed chef expressed his admiration for the cartoon family film, which Oswalt starred in as Remy. 

“I became friends with him because he was a huge fan of Ratatouille,” Oswalt dished. “He was like, ‘They got kitchens and chefs right! It’s very, very accurate.’” 

Ratatouille follows Remy, a street rat and aspiring chef who teams up with the garbage boy of an iconic Paris restaurant to achieve his culinary dreams. The film was a critical and commercial success, earning over $623 million dollars at the box office and five Academy Award nominations.

Oswalt later went on to share a story about the time he asked Bourdain for restaurant recommendations when he himself would be in the City of Light. And who better to get incredible dining counsel from, right?

“I’m not putting Anthony down, but when my wife and I honeymooned in Paris – and I still have the email – I said, ‘Hey where should we go?’ and he sent back this amazing paragraph that a Beat poet would write going: ‘Don’t do, just walk in anywhere, you gotta wander around and let it happen!’” he recalled.

How romantic! But this advice didn’t quite work out for the newlyweds.

“We found out very quickly that it works great if you’re Anthony Bourdain, but if you’re me, you need to call ahead and make reservations!” 

Note to self: become an esteemed cooking legend before going on a foodie adventure in Europe.

Ratatouille is available to stream on Disney+.