Paper Palate

If you weren’t familiar with actor Aaron Eckhart’s name before, you probably are now, as he is currently starring in this summer’s “foodie flick,” No Reservations, alongside the beautiful Catherine Zeta-Jones.  In the August issue of Bon Appetit magazine, he gave them a little peek on what he thinks about all things food.

Tell us about learning to cook for your role in No Reservations.
At the start, I trained at Melisse in LA with chef Josiah [Citrin].  I would go over there for the dinner shift and help prepare the dishes.  Later, I worked with Chef Michael White and [co-star] Catherine Zeta-Jones at Flamma in New York.  Catherine and I were working in the kitchen together and bumping into each other - it was a good way to get to know each other.

Did you have any accidents?
I cut my finger many times.  I burned myself.  I had hot oil splashed in my face.  The kitchen can be a dangerous place.

Are you still cooking?
My girlfriend and I had a dinner party a few nights ago.  We made miso cod with vegetables.  I like to do the chopping.

You’re the sous-chef?
I’m not smart enough to be the head chef.  A great chef is an artist - and you just happen to eat his creations.

If you could invite three people to dinner, who would they be? And what would you serve?
I would serve spaghetti just because it’s the most difficult thing to eat.  So that would be good for a laugh.  I’d invite Shakespeare, for sure; Jesus Christ, and Katharine Hepburn.  I believe she’s the greatest actress that ever lived.

So, who would get the girl?
Well, Shakespeare would say, “Have you seen my last play?” and Jesus would say, “Have you read my book?” and then I’d say, “Have you seen my last movie?”

Photo from Fandango.