Best movies like Rick Stein and the Japanese Ambassador

Professor Fergusson plans to make aviation history by making his way across Africa by balloon. He plans to claim uncharted territories in West Africa as proof of his inventions worth.

The Nigerian film industry, known as Nollywood, has exploded in the last ten years. Now the most popular cinema in all of west Africa--even more popular than imports of Hollywood or Bollywood films--the Nigerian film industry has distinguished itself by shooting all films (called video films) on digital video. This has allowed production schedules to be compressed (films are shot in several days) and immediately brought to market (distribution consists of bringing films to Idumota electronics market in Lagos and selling them for home viewing). The sheer volume of Nigerian video films is staggering: one estimate has a film being produced for each day of the year. Nollywood is now the third-largest film industry in the world, generating US$286 million a year for the Nigerian economy. And yet this vibrant, profitable industry is virtually unknown outside of Africa.

This comedy revolves around two brothers, both wonderful chefs, who fall out catastrophically. At the climax of their dispute they rip the family recipe book in half - one brother gets the starters and the other gets the main courses. They set up rival restaurants, across the road from each other, and spend the next twenty years trying to out-do each other. Neither brother will admit it but they both know they are not entirely successful in the 'other half' of the menu. It takes a daughter - a successful corporate lawyer marrying a man from a very different background - to reunite them. She is planning her marriage and is determined that they will both cook the wedding banquet.

Revered sushi chef Jiro Ono strives for perfection in his work, while his eldest son, Yoshikazu, has trouble living up to his father's legacy.

A profile of Istanbul and its unique people, seen through the eyes of the most mysterious and beloved animal humans have ever known, the Cat.

Primo and Secondo, two immigrant brothers, pin their hopes on a banquet honoring Louis Prima to save their struggling restaurant.

An American couple, Paul and Marianne, spend their vacation in Italy and experience trouble when Marianne invites a former lover and his teenage daughter to visit, which leads to jealousy and dangerous sexual scenarios.

Adam Jones is a Chef who destroyed his career with drugs and diva behavior. He cleans up and returns to London, determined to redeem himself by spearheading a top restaurant that can gain three Michelin stars.

Rick, a down-and-out American boxer, is hired to transport a sword to Japan, unaware that the whole thing is a set up in a bitter blood-feud between two brothers, one who follows the traditional path of the samurai and the other a businessman. At the behest of the businessman, Rick undertakes samurai training from the other brother, but joins his cause. He also becomes romantically involved with the samurai's daughter.

Two teenagers have convinced themselves they're not doing anyone any harm by counterfeiting money but it all takes a dark turn when their debt-ridden art teacher finds out they are using his classroom to make the counterfeit bills.

The wife of an abusive criminal finds solace in the arms of a kind regular guest in her husband's restaurant.

A story centered around an Indian family who moves to France and opens a restaurant across the street from a Michelin-starred French restaurant.

In 1500, Duke Cesare Borgia hopes to marry his sister to the heir apparent of Ferrara, which impedes his conquest of central Italy. On this delicate mission he sends Andrea Orsini, his sister's lover and nearly as unscrupulous as himself. En route, Orsini meets Camilla Verano, wife of the count of Citta' del Monte, and sentiment threatens to turn him against his deadly master, whom no one betrays twice...

The film tells the tale of Maggie, a film star whose world collapses when her film director husband is outed by the paparazzi when it’s discovered his new leading lady is pregnant with his baby. Seeking solace and healing Maggie escapes to her ex-pat cousin’s beautiful hotel in Nevis. After a week in paradise she discovers herself and meets a new love interest. Then the outside world comes crashing back in.

During World War II, Captain Cassidy and his crew of submariners are ordered into Tokyo Bay on a secret mission. They are to gather information in advance of the planned bombing of Tokyo. Along the way, the crew learn about each other as they face the enemy and some of them lose their lives.

A retired and widowed Chinese master chef Chu and his family live in modern day Taipei, Taiwan. He lives with his three attractive daughters, all of whom are unattached. Soon, each of the daughters encounter new men in their lives. When these new relationships blossom, stereotypes are broken and the living situation within the family changes. Since the family has difficulty expressing their love for each other, the intricate preparation of banquet quality dishes for their Sunday dinners is the surrogate for their familial feelings.

While visiting Paris, Bugs Bunny wanders past the restaurants of Louis and François, rival chefs who fight to cook him, until he promises to teach them the recipe for "Louisiana Back-bay Bayou Bunny Bordelaise à la Antoine."

This film, adapted from a work of fiction by author Tracy Chevalier, tells a story about the events surrounding the creation of the painting "Girl With A Pearl Earring" by 17th century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer. A young peasant maid working in the house of painter Johannes Vermeer becomes his talented assistant and the model for one of his most famous works.

Cheng, 45, a restaurant owner from China, has travelled with his young son halfway around the world to a remote village in Finland. His wife died recently in an accident, and Cheng wanted to have a break from everything by traveling with his son to see an old Finnish friend who lives on a farm in the countryside of Finland. It’s the most remote place Cheng can imagine with endless forests, thousands of lakes, a country with entire population of one-fifth of Cheng’s home town, Shanghai.

The discovery that she has a terminal illness prompts introverted department store saleswoman Georgia Byrd to reflect on what she realizes has been an overly cautious life. With weeks to live, she withdraws her life savings, sells all her possessions and jets off to Europe where she lives it up at a posh hotel. Upbeat and passionate, Georgia charms everybody she meets, including renowned Chef Didier. The only one missing from her new life is her longtime crush Sean Matthews.

Amateur 'chefs' from around the country compete for a million dollar prize in the ultimate food fight.

The collar awarded to the winners of the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Craftsman in France) is more than the ultimate recognition for every pastry chef - it is a dream and an obsession. The 3-day competition includes everything from delicate chocolates to precarious six foot sugar sculptures and requires that the chefs have extraordinary skill, nerves of steel and luck. The film follows Jacquy Pfeiffer, founder of The French Pastry School in Chicago, as he returns to France to compete against 15 of France's leading pastry chefs. The filmmakers were given first time/exclusive access to this high-stakes drama of passion, sacrifice, disappointment and joy in the quest to have President Sarkozy declare them one of the best in France.

A Mexican-American master chef and father to three daughters has lost his taste for food but not for life.

Diane McCarthy (Leah Pipes) is a reality television producer for her arrogant ex-boyfriend’s show highlighting travel destinations. While driving to her next assignment, Diane swerves off the road and gets stuck as a storm approaches. Nearby, she sees the Forest Cove bed and breakfast. Owner, Helen (Lindsay Wagner), offers Diane a complimentary room until her car is ready. Diane, desperate for shelter, accepts Helen’s offer and meets Helen’s handsome son Andy (Rick Malambri). Impressed by its charm, Diane changes plans for the next episode to instead focus on Forest Cove. Helen is excited and hopes the show will bring in much needed business. Andy, preparing to sell the struggling property, is against it. Despite his objections, Andy and Diane bond while preparing for the show. But it gets complicated when, Jared, Diane’s ex and host of the show, arrives and throws a wrench in things.

Mystery abounds when it is discovered that, one by one, the greatest Chefs in Europe are being killed. The intriguing part of the murders is that each chef is killed in the same manner that their own special dish is prepared in. Food critics and the (many) self-proclaimed greatest Chefs in Europe demand the mystery be solved.

A Chef from East L.A. received an invitation to a manor in Ireland to cook for a royal banquet that was planned by a Lord to convince his grandmother to sell their home.

Young Manhattan chef Samir rediscovers his heritage and passion for life through the enchanting art of cooking Indian food.

When the newly renovated Hotel Optima in Malta has a grand reopening, Chloe and her team from Destination Traveler Magazine, head over to cover the travel scene in Malta and sees someone fall to their death, right past her hotel window.

Bullied high school student Tommy is suddenly befriended by his chief tormentor, Matt, the school's most popular student and star athlete. Tommy is suspicious, but is forced to accept the awkward friendship in order to enter a cooking contest with a big prize. And besides, it's so much easier to impress his crush, Sarah, when he's not getting beat up by Matt and his team. As the cooking contest heats up, Sarah sniffs out a conspiracy, but nobody wants to hear about it. Can Tommy trust his budding friendship with Matt or is it all a huge joke on him?

When Emma moves in with her estranged, gay son, the pair must learn to reconnect through food where words fail, and face the foreclosure of the family’s Chinese restaurant and a stubborn fear of intimacy.

A restaurant owner falls in love with an opera singer and, desperate to impress her, travels to Italy to learn how to sing.

A womanizer gets his own cooking show and, ironically, the females who call in end up airing their relationship problems to him.

Years of working in the food industry have made Juana, a working-class Latina, a chef of speed and skill. Searching for financial stability, she stumbles into a high-energy, male-dominated Japanese cuisine kitchen. The new atmosphere re-ignites her passions for food and life and makes her hungry to get mixed up in the flavors of this new world.

A Dickens classic brought thrillingly up to date in the teeming heartland of modern London, where a group of street smart young hustlers plan the heist of the century for the ultimate payday.

A college freshman who trains in martial arts is beaten up at work by a racist gang. His co-worker, a Chinese cook, beats the gang up and trains the young man in Kung Fu. When a tournament is to be held, the teacher tells the student that he will not teach him for money. However, when the gang beats up the student's best friend, the student now must make the choice of entering the tournament or keeping the promise to his teacher.

Five college friends take a detour while traveling to their spring break destination. They end up in the remote mountain town of Blueridge, where Karen (Marina Resa) believes her older sister went missing 2 years before. After a few odd encounters with the locals, Karen and her friends decide to continue their journey until an unexpected auto malfunction leaves them stranded. The group takes refuge in a local motel and soon learns that in Blueridge, "missing persons" is just a way of life. One-by-one they begin disappearing until the grizzly discovery is made that the local BBQ Rib Restaurant might be serving up more than anyone had bargained.

An American woman is stranded in Tokyo after breaking up with her boyfriend. Searching for direction in life, she trains to be a râmen chef under a tyrannical Japanese master.

Handsome Prince George arrives on board his ship in Japan. Youthful, immaculate in naval uniform and smiling broadly, he goes through the complicated formalities of being greeted by a host nation. But housed with the Ambassador and his family, the Prince finds the atmosphere stuffy and dull; he longs for freedom and, for once, rebels against his upbringing with all its constraints and responsibilities, escaping for a week of romance, and unexpected drama…

In Round One - FIGHT!: Ryu and Ken find themselves setting out to investigate the murder of their martial arts master. Their search for answers takes them to Japan where M. Bison and his assorted minions including Cammy, Vega, and Sagat keep a close eye on Ryu for reasons unknown.

When Natalie (Anni Krueger) learns her cousin Francesca (Nia Vardalos) must cancel the Christmas Eve opening of her new Italian restaurant, Natalie’s heart goes out to all of the guests who were planning on attending. Since no one should be alone on Christmas, Natalie decides to make the opening happen any way she can. However, the attractive but pessimistic Chef Stefano (Gilles Marini) believes it’s impossible – there are only three days until Christmas! But Natalie insists that problems are just opportunities in disguise and soon she convinces Stefano that they can do it. At first, these opposites do not attract, but feelings begin to change when they find themselves working side-by-side. With Stefano’s help Natalie learns that cooking, like Christmas, isn’t about perfection…it’s about sharing it with the ones you love.

The holiday season is turned upside down for a neophyte food critic JJ (Pope) when her uninhibited mother (Baranski) shows up unannounced. In an attempt to occupy her mom's time, JJ works out a deal with a young chef (Cannavale) that stirs up some matters of the heart.

Detective Sergeant Malcolm Ainslie, a Catholic priest turned distinguished investigator for the police, has agreed to hear the confession of a convicted serial killer sentenced to death in a just a matter of hours. What he promises to reveal to Ainslie is the truth behind the crimes and the reason he confessed to the one crime Ainslie doesn't even believe he committed. What unfolds between the two men is a serpentine trail into both men's pasts based on the bestseller from master storyteller Arthur Hailey.

Budding photographer Chloe (Ory) comes from a family of failed romances. At a local flea market, she stumbles upon an old photo album from the 1970s, chronicling the ideal romance of a happy couple (Hindle and Barbeau). Unable to find her own "true love," she sets out to find the couple in the album and prove that true love exists. Along the way, she meets Gabe Sinclair (Macfarlane), a mysterious, but charming bartender, who seizes the opportunity to join Chloe's mission and soon finds himself falling in love with her. With limited resources, the two go on an adventure, searching for clues that will lead them to the couple, and hopefully to true love. As the search continues, Chloe begins taking an interest in Gabe, but won't let these feelings distract her from her mission to find the couple. Will Chloe learn to give up her fear of falling in love and finally find true happiness?

When Seattle magazine writer Samantha Hart is sent home to write an article about the wedding destination of Hawthorne Vineyards, she discovers the ex who broke her heart not only runs the vineyard, but he’s about to get married there.

A baseball player finds unexpected happiness with a woman who works in his favorite restaurant.

When chef Hank makes a deal with frozen food executive Maggie to save his restaurant, their unexpected attraction complicates matters, leaving Maggie conflicted: Does she choose her allegiance to her cut-throat boss or does she partner - both in work and in love - with Hank?

Cleo Morelli, an aspiring Portland chef, tries to win a food truck competition while the competition tries to win her heart.

Chef Dave Oberlin's career is in shambles when his altercation with a famous food critic goes viral. After being blacklisted by the elite restaurants, Dave is forced to take a teaching position at his friend's culinary arts school. When cardiologist Nina Kirby is up for a promotion at the local hospital, the Head of Cardiology informs her if she gets Dave on board to teach the Healthy Living seminars she would be a shoo-in for the position. The only problem is Nina can't cook and she doesn't want to learn. With a little coaxing from her best friend Olivia, Nina agrees to take Dave's class. When Nina presents Dave with the Healthy Living seminars he's disinterested in working with her due to her lack of class participation. In her effort to persuade him to get on board, Nina and Dave come across some unexpected common ground.

The Winter Feast is Po's favorite holiday. Every year he and his father hang decorations, cook together, and serve noodle soup to the villagers. But this year Shifu informs Po that as Dragon Warrior, it is his duty to host the formal Winter Feast at the Jade Palace. Po is caught between his obligations as the Dragon Warrior and his family traditions: between Shifu and Mr. Ping.

A Zen priest in San Francisco and cookbook author use Zen Buddhism and cooking to relate to everyday life.