critics consensus

This charming doc takes its time while focusing on food, but highlights larger lessons that audiences will reflect upon long after leaving the theater. Read critic reviews

Show all services

Rate And Review

Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer
Step 2 of 2

How did you buy your ticket?

Let's get your review verified.
Fandango

AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info

Cinemark Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Regal Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
How did you buy your ticket?
- Fandango
- AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew
  
  Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info
- Cinemark Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Regal Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You haven’t finished your review yet, want to submit as-is?

You can always edit your review after.
Are you sure?

Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers.
Want to submit changes to your review before closing?

How to Cook Your Life Photos

View All Photos (14)

Movie Info

Filmmaker Doris Dörrie delves into the life and philospophy of renowned chef, cookbook author and Zen priest Edward Espe Brown. Brown, who holds court at the Scheibbs Buddhist Center in Austria, the San Francisco Zen Center and the Tassajara Mountain Center, melds his love of cooking with the teachings of his Zen mentor, Suzuki Roshi.

Rating:

PG-13 (Brief Strong Language)
Genre:

documentary
Original Language:

English
Director:

Doris Dörrie
Writer:

Doris Dörrie
Release Date (Theaters):

Oct 26, 2007 limited
Release Date (Streaming):

Jan 11, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA):

$84.1K
Runtime:

1h 40m
Production Co:

Megaherz TV Fernsehproduktion GmbH

Cast & Crew

Doris Dörrie
Self

Edward Espe Brown
Self

Doris Dörrie
Director

Doris Dörrie
Writer

Critic Reviews for How to Cook Your Life

All Critics (25) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (18) | Rotten (7)

Quote not available.

November 24, 2011 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

Ty Burr
Boston Globe
In How to Cook Your Life, Edward Espe Brown endearingly embodies one of Buddhism's guiding principles: a sense of humor about our arrogances and illusions.

December 6, 2007 | Full Review…

Desson Thomson
Washington Post
An unexpectedly charming and enlightening film.

November 16, 2007 | Rating: 4/5

Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
If you enjoy time spent in the kitchen, you may find some surprising enlightenment in Brown's observations.

November 16, 2007 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…

Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News
Well-intentioned but lethargic.

November 16, 2007 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

V.A. Musetto
New York Post
A jaunty mix of chanting, baking and spiritual uplift, How to Cook Your Life introduces us to the cooking classes of Edward Espe Brown, a twinkling Zen priest.

November 16, 2007 | Rating: 4/5

Jeannette Catsoulis
New York Times
Salient points about the nature of food and culture are gently made, but the tone of the film is never preachy nor didactic, and the correlations between spiritual teaching and food make for a nice series of lessons learned.

August 23, 2017 | Full Review…

Dorothy Woodend
The Tyee (British Columbia)
Quote not available.

April 4, 2011 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Dave White
Movies.com
It gives one a good sense of the Zen experience in cooking.

August 26, 2009 | Rating: B | Full Review…

Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
...a charming but somewhat superficial portrait of Edward Espe Brown, Zen priest and cookbook author.

September 19, 2008 | Rating: 6/10 | Full Review…

Sarah Boslaugh
Playback:stl
What makes her film fascinating is the idea that this calm, centered man may be about to lose his grip.

December 14, 2007 | Rating: 2.5/4

Chris Hewitt
St. Paul Pioneer Press
How To Cook Your Life is slow and gentle, and it sneaks up on you. It ain't War & Peace, but it is the sort of film you'll think about long after you leave the theatre.

December 3, 2007 | Rating: 3/5

Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

View All Critic Reviews (25)

Audience Reviews for How to Cook Your Life

Feb 04, 2010

Sure, documentaries are usually slow and uneventful, but they should be informative. Well, Doris Dorrie doesn't have much going on with informing in this picture.There is no clear point as to what this documentary is trying to be. Is it a film about food? Is it about cooking? Is it about religion? Supposedly, a handful of people are attending some sort of zen class with cooking, but after a brief shot of the day's schedule in the beginning, there is no indication of any schedule being followed. The film bounces around from topic to topic and it also momentarily switches to other people for interviews that seem to be on a tangent from what Chef Edward Brown is talking about.Chef Brown himself is very bland and monotonous in the way he talks. This makes this 90 minute picture extremely boring from beginning to end. He attempts humor from time to time, as he laughs at his own comments, but most, if not all, are very hard to find laughable.How to Cook Your Life does have a message that some will connect with; however, this film just does a bad job at conveying it.

JY S Super Reviewer