clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Watch Charlie Trotter in My Best Friend's Wedding

by Hillary Dixler Canavan
Hillary Dixler Canavan is Eater's restaurant editor and the author of the publication's debut book, Eater: 100 Essential Restaurant Recipes From the Authority on Where to Eat and Why It Matters (Abrams, September 2023). Her work focuses on dining trends and the people changing the industry — and scouting the next hot restaurant you need to try on Eater's annual Best New Restaurant list.

Here's a clip from the blockbuster 1997 romantic comedy My Best Friend's Wedding — directed by P.J. Hogan — in which the late, legendary Chicago chef Charlie Trotter plays himself. The opening scene of the movie finds Trotter running a frantic fine dining kitchen and preparing a VIP ticket for food critic Julianne Potter (played by Julia Roberts).

Trotter is running the pass and barking at cooks, saying things like "I will kill your whole family if you don't get this right, I need this perfect." Potter seems pleased with the her very tall dish of veal and polenta, and proclaims, "I'm writing it up as inventive and confident." A bit of movie trivia: Potter is a New York City critic, so it seems in the fictional world of My Best Friend's Wedding Trotter actually opened a New York restaurant. Go, watch:

Video: Charlie Trotter in My Best Friend's Wedding

· Chicago Chef Charlie Trotter Dead at 54 [-E-]
· All Charlie Trotter Coverage on Eater [-E-]

More From Eater

The Latest

Get Ready for a Pasta Girl Fall

By Opheli Garcia Lawler

Who Needs Dave Portnoy?

By Jaya Saxena and Amy McCarthy

It’s Never Just a Milkshake

By Jaya Saxena

Sichuan Peppercorns Are Hot Enough for McDonald’s

By Jaya Saxena

Everything You Need to Know About Baking in the Air Fryer

By Bettina Makalintal

Vegetables Get the Tinned Fish Treatment

By Bettina Makalintal