Dinner with the No Reservations cast

By: The Dude

Much to everyone’s shock, the Dude got invited to lunch with the cast of No Reservations. Instead of asking Aaron Eckhart, Abigail Breslin and director Scott Hicks questions, he basically tried to pick up Catherine Zeta-Jones.

The Dude: Catherine, when did you know you wanted to make No Reservations your next film?
CATHERINE ZETA-JONES: I met Aaron for lunch, actually, because I heard through Scott that Aaron was really interested in being in the movie. And I thought, ‘Wow, that would be terrific.’ So, we met for lunch. We’d never met before, and got on really well, chitchatted about the project, talked about Mr. Hicks. And then, before we knew it, we were all signed on, and up here in New York, ready to go. So, it was an easy process for us to get together. The idea of being a chef, for me, was pretty terrifying, to be quite honest…

You’re kidding?
CATHERINE ZETA-JONES: I’m serious . But we had this intense training together, which was a laugh because we arrived in this kitchen at Fiamma. I’ve got my little apron on, looking ever so professional, looking at Aaron going, ‘Oh, God, my finger’s coming off before you know it.’ We had a few weeks of that, then we were up and running. I felt very comfortable in the kitchen, and I still do, actually.

You cook at home now?
CATHERINE ZETA-JONES: Oh, all the time. I have a new appreciation of being in a kitchen. I’ve a new appreciation of when a plate of food gets put on my table, how much goes into it, as opposed to going, ‘Is this cooked right?’

And you Aaron?
AARON ECKHART: I had the same thing. We had a great time getting to know each other in the kitchen. At first, Scott got us hooked up with Fiamma, with Chef Michael White. We were in the kitchen, trying to be very courteous to each other and move around the kitchen. By the second day, you’re bumping into each other; you’re reaching over each other, becoming very familiar. That was a lot of fun to do that. I’ve never had a fantasy about being a chef.
CATHERINE ZETA-JONES: But he was ever so professional. When I first met him I had to take a few gulps. He came with all his own private knives.

Speaking of cooking, what would you make for each other if you did have the opportunity to use the skills you’ve learned?
CATHERINE ZETA-JONES: I think I’d make Aaron some Welsh lamb, some good roasted potatoes, good food that I was brought up on.

QUESTION: Do you have a favorite restaurant?
CATHERINE ZETA-JONES: There’s this restaurant outside of Barcelona, which is like going into a chemistry lab. El Bulli. I went there, and it was completely jam-packed because you have to book two years in advance. So, I got to eat in the kitchen. You see all these people that looked like scientists literally concocting these amazing dishes with textures, that you’ve never even seen or been able to feel. You put your spoon in something and it would all dissolve. It was genius. That’s why, for me, that experience was one of the best I’ve ever had.

What about you, Scott? Your favorite?
SCOTT HICKS: Well, one of the reasons I used Fiamma as a reference in New York was that I thought it was an excellent restaurant. They were so helpful in the sense of saying, ‘This is our world; this is the world that you’re portraying, and we want to help you get it right.’ They were very, very generous, and they provided a backup that I needed on the set every single day. To help the cast, we had a chef there to really let me know if something had gone egregiously wrong with what we were doing. So, they became a real favorite for me.

Catherine, can I call you Catherine? Your character's picky about food in this movie. Is there anything in real life that you can’t resist?
CATHERINE ZETA-JONES: Actually it sounds so ridiculous and so crazy, but I’m obsessed with smoked salmon sandwiches on brown bread with potato chips in the middle crushed down. I had it on each of my pregnancies and I actually had it two nights ago for dinner. It’s one of those comfort foods.
SCOTT HICKS: It’s going around on the menu.

Sounds gross. Did you create this recipe?
CATHERINE ZETA-JONES: Yes, I did. A little bit of lemon, a little salt and pepper.

What was it like working in a restaurant to research these roles?
CATHERINE ZETA-JONES: When Aaron and I started off, the second time we met, wewere in the kitchen together. And it is intimidating, especially because we started off when it was just us and Michael, the chef. He gradually took us through the kitchen. In a way, it’s an organized chaos. You’d think everyone would be slashing into each other, burning each other, chopping, but it actually moves really gracefully. It’s like a ballet, and Aaron and I wanted to fit into that environment, so that we could look like it was our job for real. What was terrifying for me was when all the other chefs started coming in. Then, you’re trying to get out of their way. You’re there to learn, and not do anything really ridiculous. Then I went out on the floor, which was pretty terrifying because I’d never been a waitress before that. I started screwing up my lines, forgetting what sauce it was, and there was one dessert that was this big concoction in this bowl of chocolate. And I said, ‘Just have it. It’s delicious. Order it, it’s great.’

QUESTION: Abigail, what was that like for you?
ABIGAIL BRESLIN: I went to the French Culinary Institute, so that was really fun. I had to learn how to flip a pancake. I dropped a couple of pancakes. And that was not good. But I worked with Chef Wong, and she was really nice. So, it was fun.

This film also includes heaps of opera. Aaron, dude, tell me you don’t listen to opera.
AARON ECKHART: I did when I was making the movie. I listened to one song a lot. It doesn’t come totally natural to me. As you know, I’m not a great singer. But I did actually like doing it to experiment, and, like Scott said, they’re such amazing voices. To see the difference between a layman’s voice and their voices, it’s amazing stuff. Saying the words and having the poetry and the meanings and the images that go along with the music really is inspiring. It’s archetypical symbols and imagery, and I think that’s why theatres and, and opera’s important because they’re telling tales, and this is a tale of a guy who lost his love. So, it’s very apropos for the film. But to sing it was a stretch. Catherine has a beautiful voice, and so to sing in front of her was tough.
CATHERINE ZETA-JONES: You did a great job.

Did she coach you?
AARON ECKHART: Not at all.
CATHERINE ZETA-JONES: No. I stood there and said, ‘Come on, Eckhart, give it your best.’ He did. He did a great job. I actually did an opera many, many years ago at the English National Opera, Kurt Weill’s Street Scene, which was amazing. Well, it was terrifying because they did a season of The Magic Flute, Street Scene and then some other opera, so you didn’t have a run-up of doing it the whole week. It was like, ‘Oh, you’re on two days and then The Magic Flute two days. So, every night felt like a first night. You’d see these great people, these great talents with voices, chatting off the side of the stage, what they’re going to do for dinner, where they’re going to go for a drink and then, the next minute, they’d go on to the stage and just boom. Now, I’d be shaking in my shoes, but it was a really interesting. We toured Germany with it for a while, so it was really interesting to be part of that opera way of life.

QUESTION: What do you think the recipe is for a successful relationship?
CATHERINE ZETA-JONES: I think just to be kind to each other. We meet so many different people in life and sometimes we spend more time being nice and friendly to complete strangers than you do to the person you love more than anything else in the world. So, just to have that at the back of your mind, just to be respectful, kind and nice.

Catherine, do you share any of Kate’s perfectionist tendencies?
CATHERINE ZETA-JONES: I wouldn’t say I'm a perfectionist in the way that Kate is because it’s borderline anal retentive, and I'd hate to give myself that title. But there's a much shyer quality to me that people don’t usually see. And I could relate to Kate in that not stoic way, but a little reserved because I get perceived sometimes as, ‘here comes the showgirl.’ And, in fact, I have many insecurities. I’m a lot more reserved and quiet than I let on to be, and I do that for a reason sometimes. But I found a quietness in her that I related to.

Catherine, you play a much different role in this film than the ‘glamorous leading lady.’ Did you enjoy that?
CATHERINE ZETA-JONES: When I read the script, I went, ‘Wow, this is not a character that a director would naturally think of me as a slam dunk,’ and I think that’s what was exciting to me, to be able to play a much more vulnerable character than what is necessarily an image of me onscreen. I’ve found this such a fascinating experience, just the process of going in to work, and the hair and makeup – every day I went in, just stuck on my chef’s outfit and that bloody green coat, okay. I had a great time doing it.