BFT
Pennsylvania
Hollywood heartthrob Bradley Cooper has revealed how he loved cooking up a storm in his new film because he got to return to his roots.
The Oscar-nominated actor shed blood and sweat to play a troubled executive chef, who decides to leave Paris and make a name for himself in London in Burnt, which had its European premiere in Leicester Square tonight.
He said: “I love food - I worked in kitchens growing up. I was a prep cook but never anything like this. “I love peeking behind the curtain of what restaurants are like at this level, two star going to three. It really is quite a love event. Being able to attend a service at Gordon Ramsay’s Hospital Road or watch Marcus Wareing’s brigade is incredible.”
Cooper continued: “We are actually doing the cooking in the movie for better and for worse and cutting ourselves quite a bit. It all lent itself to the experience. It was a wonderful experience we will never forget and it bonded us.” The American Sniper star, 40, and his co-stars including Sienna Miller, Daniel Bruhl and Omar Sy were given culinary advice from Ramsay and Wareing, the latter of whom was a consultant on the movie. Cooper also had a stint flipping burgers in one of Burger King’s West End branches to prepare for the role.
Miller, who previously worked with Cooper on American Sniper, said getting the opportunity to receive training from Wareing was a dream come true. She said: “Marcus is one of the greatest chefs in the world and I love to cook. To be able to have that training by him was just the kind of thing you dream about and I had to do it for work. I was forced to! “But I would do that in my spare time but it was great.” The 33-year-old actress, who wore a striking sequined dress by Marc Jacobs, admitted being in kitchens constantly was not easy.
“It’s exhausting with the focus it required. You can’t drop the ball for a second because you’ve got 100 degrees going so you would hurt yourself so it was tiring. But we understood the intensity of the environment so we loved it,” she said. Noel Gallagher hugged Cooper as he arrived at the screening with daughter Anais, and revealed a friendship with the Hollywood star.
The High Flying Birds and former Oasis frontman, who took the London Underground to the premiere, said: “I’ve known him for quite a few years now. He was convinced I was an absolute double of his best friend in Philadelphia and when he showed me a photo of this guy, he looked nothing like me at all. We’ve been friends ever since and we hang out quite a bit.”
Their co-stars Bruhl and Sy, both 37, as well as director John Wells and chef Wareing had only compliments about the pair’s cooking skills. German actor Bruhl - who has starred in Ron Howard’s Rush and the Captain America films - said: “Bradley didn’t have a double in any scene. He’s very talented.” Wareing, who also makes a cameo appearance in the film, said: “My job was to ensure they respect the kitchens. They were cooking real food, they were dressing real plates and it had to be done the right way. I didn’t care if they were actors - they had a job to do and that’s to be chefs.”
He added: “Bradley is a great cook. He’s great with meat and Sienna’s speciality is fish. Sienna is excellent - she was on stove the most. I was impressed with how she made a massive effort to become a chef and her attention to detail inspired me.” Burnt, directed by Wells and written by Peaky Blinders’ Steven Knight, opens in UK cinemas on November 6.