When Stephen Chow Sing-Chi wrote, directed and starred in God of Cookery in 1996, he was already a huge star in Asian cinema, with dozens of movies to his name including hits like Fight Back to School. Sik San, or God of Cookery, proved to be another big success. One part action and one part comedy with culinary and martial arts flourishes, the film also includes a romantic storyline and a moral.
Who Is the God of Cookery?
As the film begins, Stephen Chow is brutally, undeniably, the God of Cookery, a fabricated title for his television show. Pompous and brimming with self-importance, he asserts his superiority even when not judging other chefs on his program. He rams cigarette butts down a chef’s throat after a shoot for overacting on the program. Later, over dinner, he stabs a fork into one of his assistant’s buttocks for serving him the wrong vintage of his favorite fine wine.
Stephen Chow Is... Stephen Chow
The character in God of Cookery and the actor himself share the same name, although in written Chinese the ideogram for the family name is different. Chow the comedian’s charm and charisma thus become meshed with the character he plays, and the main character’s cruelty reads as slapstick humor. In one scene he even looks directly at the screen and laughs after insulting his MC. But his antics transgress norms – he addresses an elder as “asshole” in a business meeting – and he will pay for it.
Food Film, Action Flick, Farce
Part of God of Cookery’s brilliance is the way it incorporates, references, and slaloms between several different genres. There’s action, and poking fun at action films. And Asian cuisine features prominently, of course. The world the chefs inhabit is no more cutthroat than that of the street vendors, however, and a bowl of noodles made in a Hong Kong back alley has the power to help propel Stephen Chow back to the culinary Mt. Olympus from which he was ejected.
Martial Arts in the Mix
Quick fight scenes, physical humor, and fast-chopping knives – Iron Chef definitely comes to mind – all create a sense of excitement and ridiculousness. Action, parody, and clever references are all emblematic of Chow’s best work. And God of Cookery also manages to sneak in a bit of romance that prevails in the end, along with a somewhat bewildering lesson to be learned.
The Real Stephen Chow Sing-Chi
Chow the man is described as “humble” in Karl Taro Greenfield’s brief profile “Chow Time,” which ran in the New York Times. He was born and raised in Hong Kong, where he worked to become one of Asian cinema’s biggest stars. Like Jackie Chan, he combines comedy and martial arts. Stephen Chow never trained seriously, however, although he does practice kung fu. He is currently slated to play Bruce Lee’s Kato in the film version of Green Hornet in 2010.
- The God of Cookery (Sik San)
- Starring Stephen Chow
- Written by Stephen Chow and Vincent Kok
- Directed by Stephen Chow and Lik-Chi Lee
- Running time: 95 minutes
