How Netflix drama Hunger, about a Thai street food cook who goes to work for a celebrity chef, uses haute cuisine setting to address social inequality

Starring Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, this Thai drama focuses on the relationship between a young member of a prestigious culinary team and her ruthless boss

The director explains how his movie uses fine dining to examine wealth disparity in Thailand and the drive to succeed of people from rich and poor backgrounds

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Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying as Bangkok noodle cook Aoy in a still from Hunger. The Netflix drama uses haute cuisine to comment on inequality and the human hunger for success. Photo: Netflix

Published: 7:15am, 6 Apr 2023Updated: 2:47pm, 7 Apr 2023

Thai director Sitisiri Mongkolsiri’s haute-cuisine-themed drama Hunger debuts on Netflix on April 8 and brings new meaning to the saying “the world is your oyster”.

The film, which focuses on the unsettling relationship between young female apprentice Aoy (“Aokbab” Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, star of the 2017 high-school heist thriller Bad Genius) and the ruthless Chef Paul (Nopachai Chaiyanam), goes beyond presenting conflicts between mentor and mentee, and fine dining and street food.

Like the fire that heats Aoy’s wok, the topics that the film addresses are hot, with Sitisiri using food and the hierarchical structure of haute-cuisine kitchens as metaphors to reflect the imbalances and class struggle in society, particularly in Thailand.

“Thailand has many different kinds, layers and classes of food, and I saw it as an ideal dimension to explore what poor and rich people eat and consume,” Sitisiri tells the Post in an interview. “Food made me think of one main question: Are people from both these worlds hungry for the same things?”

His answer develops into an exploration of humanity’s endless dissatisfaction and desire for change.