Jon Favreau, who is best known for directing Iron Man, the mega-blockbuster movie, has taken on a new challenge as the director and lead actor in Chef, his newest and quirkiest movie. This movie follows the fictional life of Chef Carl Casper, an up and coming chef in the L.A. restaurant scene. However, after a terrible review of his food by the most famous restaurant critic in L.A., Chef Casper has a meltdown and quits his job after he has more than one screaming match with the owner of the restaurant and the reviewer.

At first, quitting seems like the worst decision he’s ever made. He’s unemployed, embarrassed, depressed and broke. However, eventually, quitting becomes the best thing he has ever done. After being fired he finds a food truck in Miami. Casper names the truck, “El Jefe,” which means “The Boss” in Spanish, and with the help of his tech-savvy son, he quickly develops a cult following via Twitter. It is not long before “El Jefe,” becomes a massively successful business venture.

This movie really hit a sweet spot on my movie palate. First, it has an amazing reggae soundtrack that I loved. The songs perfectly complement the touching story, which is not so much about cooking as it is about cherishing family, following your passions, and reinventing yourself. The chef and his son not only reconnect but also become real partners in every way.

The son, played by Emjay Anthony, is nerdy and shy when the movie begins, changes the most throughout the movie. He practically drops out of school to help out with the truck. He goes from being a near-stranger to his father to being his sandwich maker, cashier and best buddy.

The chef’s ex-wife, played by Sophia Vergera, even helps out with the venture, by finding the beat-up old truck for them and allowing her son to spend more time with his dad than in school. She sees how important family relationships are to everyone and instead of being a cliché ex-wife who is possessive of their son, she lets him basically run away with his dad for an entire summer. Even though Casper is angry at his ex and bitter about their divorce, the two of them figure out ways to support and help each other.  And, eventually, they become a broken family that works, with an amazing soundtrack playing in the background.

The acting by Sophia Vergera as the ex-wife, John Favreau as the chef and Scarlett Johansson as the bemused hostess of the original restaurant, is so low-key and natural that the movie almost feels like a documentary. John Favreau, a man who is known for blockbuster sci-fi films, steps into a different realm with this sensitive piece of acting and directing and shows that he has a wide array of different skills. Bravo, Favreau, you genuinely cooked up a good one this time.