About 30 minutes into any food-related movie, the inevitable starts to happen: All those beautiful, delicious meals on the screen start making you hungry.
While you usually have to satisfy your cravings with whatever overpriced snack your cinema offers, Cinema Culinair makes it possible to eat exactly what you see.
They curate menus that correspond to some of the tastiest movies out there, making sure you never leave the cinema hungry again.
Welkom to Cinema Culinair
Cinema Culinair started in Rotterdam in 2008 and has since expanded to five locations across the Netherlands (and two in Belgium):
- Amsterdam,
- The Hague,
- Utrecht,
- Rotterdam,
- Nijmegen,
- Gent (Belgium),
- Antwerp (Belgium),
- Eindhoven (coming soon!)
The concept is simple and delicious: They organise screenings, prepare the food you see on screen, and serve it exactly the second it appears in the movie — if you’ve ever wanted to have dinner with Meryl Streep, this is probably as close as you’ll get.
There’s a large variety of movies to choose from; the only thing they have in common is they’re all centred around amazing food.
You can go for suspense with “Estômago” or “The Menu,” keep it family-friendly with “Ratatouille” or “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,” or get a good cry (and a good meal!) with “No Reservations.”
You won’t leave the cinema hungry
We headed over to the Werkspoorkathedraal in Utrecht to give Cinema Culinair a try ourselves.
When you enter the screening hall, you see the former factory has been transformed into a beautifully lit room with a spacious bar and long tables facing movie screens on both sides.
Doors opened an hour before the movie, so we got the chance to get some drinks and a movie essential — popcorn — before it was time to get the show started.
Once we sat down at the table, we got a quick explanation of how Cinema Culinair works, and voilà — it was time to enjoy the film and some food that’s much better than popcorn.
As the movie was playing, we could see a countdown on the screen, marking the exact moment when we (and the actors) were supposed to start eating.
You’re not able to get new drinks until the first break about an hour into the movie, so make sure you stack up. 🍾
A night of French cuisine
We enjoyed an evening of French cooking with the movie Julie & Julia, which follows the stories of the iconic Julia Child and an American blogger, Julie, who attempts to recreate all of Julia’s French recipes.
No, there weren’t any snails — but we did enjoy rich French cheeses, delicious chicken and fish for the meat-eaters and mushrooms drowned in butter for the vegetarians. And, of course, it wouldn’t be a movie about Julia Child without a classic beef bourguignon.
Overall, we got seven small courses to go along with the movie. Most of the movie scenes are short, so make sure you come hungry enough to eat at a fast pace! ✨
Once the film was over, we weren’t quite ready to say “au revoir” to French cuisine — luckily, we got to take home some of the recipes we’d just enjoyed.
Sounds delicious? Go eat your film-loving heart out
But no need to be jealous, everyone. 😉
You can catch the next Cinema Culinair screening in Amsterdam, Nijmegen, Utrecht, Rotterdam, The Hague (and soon Eindhoven!), or even hop over the border to Ghent or Antwerp.
Ticket prices depend on the type of meal you’re getting with the movie, usually ranging between €60 (for brunch) and €90 (for dinner).
There’s even a “secret cinema” option, where you won’t know which movie you’ll be watching, but you will know it’ll only cost you €24.
Ready to take your taste buds on a cinematic journey? Now’s your chance!
Would you try out Cinema Culinair? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.