Based on a Chinese legend, there lived a man who has the “Qilin Tongue”, which is about a man who has the special ability to whip up the same the dish after having just a taste.

Mitsuru Sasaki (Kazunari Ninomiya) is a chef who possesses this skill. He was a talented orphan who ran away from home together with Ken Yanagisawa (Go Ayano) while they were still very young. The duo were childhood friends who eventually set up their high-end restaurant which had many influential patrons dining in because of Sasaki’s extravagant culinary creations.

The business eventually turned sour due to Sasaki’s irritable desire to produce perfect dishes. He couldn’t keep up with his crazy antics, his employees quit and he went bankrupt. The closure of his restaurant amounted to a mountain of debts which he had to clear.

Sasaki uses his special gift by charging millions of dollars to clients to prepare and present the final meals. At the request of clients, he travels anywhere in the world with his set of cooking equipment in a tall box. He received a request from Beijing by a Chinese culinary professional, Qingming Yang (Yoshi Oida) who spoke Japanese fluently. Yang heard about his special ability and wanted Sasaki to trace the whereabouts of the “Great Japanese Imperial Feast” recipe.

Through his quest of travelling back and forth between China and Korea, Sasaki learns about the dramatic story behind the recipe, invented by Japanese Imperial Chef, Naotaro Yamagata (Hidetoshi Nishijima).

The Last Recipe is brought to the big screen by Yojiro Takita, the director of the award winning film, Departures. The Japanese culinary-themed film is based on written work by Keiichi Tanaka.

It is a heartwarming film about personal values, trust and the importance of family! If you enjoy the Masterchef series on the telly, you will feel satisfied witnessing the skilful technics of cooking and the marvellous presentation of the dishes. Japanese culinary culture is infused with European cooking methods as the lead character was trained in Paris. You will be drooling and impressed after siting through the movie! Don’t forget to stay till the end credits as a special feature is shown!

The Last Recipe is now showing in theatres!