Dallo «zuppone alla porcara» al «risotto oro e zafferano»: la rappresentazione del cuoco sul piccolo e grande schermo

In Hostaria! (1977), an episode of the film I nuovi mostri, a chef and a waiter brawl in the kitchen, overturning pans and throwing food while preparing the house specialty. Forty years later, in 2017, a docufilm celebrates Gualtiero Marchesi, The Great Italian, who ironically asks: «Is it necessary to make a film about my life?». The development of the professional figure of the chef in Italy and its cultural and social value remains an underexplored topic. This paper aims to provide insights into these transformations by examining the evolution of the chef’s role from the 1950s to the early 21st century through a comparison with significant media representations, highlighting the complexity and non-linearity of this journey