History Film / CookUpAStorm

* TheGoodOldWays: From the plating to the ingredients, Tianci refuses to change anything about the otherwise excellent and refined food he makes, despite everyone from his rival, to his friends, to even his beloved Uncle Seven who taught him how to cook goading him to evolve and experiment. There's evidence to suggest that he clings so fiercely to traditionalism as a source of comfort and stability in lieu of his father who left him to journey the world to become a better and more innovative chef. This mindset is what ultimately costs him his climactic duel with Paul, as while the salt-baked duck he prepared was superb, it did nothing bold or new, which Paul's entry did while also being delicious.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Paul's introductory scene has him serving the royal family of France as they celebrate the birth of their son, although those who are familiar with French history know that France is a Republic, and thus has no royal family at present as the monarchy was abolished in 1792.

** Paul is a mild-mannered and gentle young man; but he doesn't hesitate to give a mean headbutt to the head of the Li Group and breaking the man's nose in the process when the latter insults him one time too many.

* {{Foil}}: Both Tianci and Paul aspire to be exemplery chefs, and it has something to do with their father, though the differentiating factor is that in Paul's case, he wants to honor his father's dying wish of him becoming a great chef. On the other hand, Tianci's father believed that he had no aptitude and cooking and abandoned him to focus solely on his cooking career, and Tianci is determined to prove his father wrong.

* FriendlyRivalry: Even before both chefs teamed up, both Tianci and Paul have been shown to highly respect the other's abilities.

** After Tianci and Paul win the semi-finals, they know that only one of them can face against Gao Feng in the final round. Paul doesn't hesitate to tell Tianci to compete for two reasons: one, Paul's impaired taste will only detriment his chances of winning in the competition, and two, Gao Feng is Tianci's father -- hence it only makes sense that the latter is the one who participates in the last cook-off.

* HandicappedBadass: Paul rightfully earned his reputation as a world-class chef, although what holds him back is that he's not able to detect key tastes (such as saltiness) in food, which requires him to write down any successful recipe he makes so that he will know exactly what works and what doesn't.

** Downplayed. Although it's never seen what happens to the Li Group after Mi Yu loses to Paul and Tianci in the semi-finals, it's at least guaranteed that the loss will leave a bad hit on their reputation, especially since they replaced Paul with Mi Yu, the latter of whom ends up getting beaten fair and square by the former (teamed up with Tianci) in the competition, adding further insult to injury. It doesn't help that the epilogue showing how Tianci's restaurant is still flooding with customers, implying that Stellar is no longer doing as well business-wise.

* TechnicianVersusPerformer: Tianci (the Performer) is a skilled home cook and what he lacks in technique, he more than makes up for with his knowledge of various tastes and of Chinese cuisine. Paul (the Technician) is someone who's good at fusion cuisine and knows all there is to know about molecular gastronomy, but he has an impaired sense of taste. Their respective strengths compensate for the other's shortcomings when they team up in the Culinary Competition.

** Downplayed. Although it's never seen what happens to the Li Group after Mi Yu loses to Paul and Tianci in the semi-finals, it's at least guaranteed that the loss will leave a bad hit on their reputation, especially since they replaced Paul with Mi Yu, the latter of whom ends up getting beaten fair and square by the former (teamed up with Tianci ) in the competition, adding further insult to injury. It doesn't help that the epilogue showing how Tianci's restaurant is still flooding with customers, implying that Stellar is no longer doing as well business-wise.

* MundaneMadeAwesome: For the semi-finals, Tianci and Paul make a deconstructed dish of mapo tofu that is completely impressive presentation-wise (such as how the chili sauce is flawlessly marbled into the tofu and the sphered beef fat) yet still captures everything that makes a mapo tofu such a striking and delicious dish, especially with its numbing spices.

** Downplayed with Tianci. Although he doesn't technically win against his father in the Culinary Competition, he does attain what he really wanted: his father's approval. How? With a humble but delicious bowl of noodles, the very same dish that his father insulted him for never being able to make well.

* SupremeChef: In spite of their different backgrounds, both Tianci and Paul know how to make good food.

Cook Up a Storm (决战食神, literally: Clash of the Culinary Gods) is a 2017 Hong Kong-Chinese film starring Nicholas Tse and Jung Yong-hwa.

** Paul is a mild-mannered and gentle young man; but he doesn't hesitate to give a mean headbutt to the head of the Li Group and breaking the the man's nose in the process when the latter insults him one time too many.
** After winning the semi-finals, Paul turns to look at Mayo, who cannot bring herself to look at him as she's too embarrassed from her loss and how her betrayal was for naught. He doesn't bother to even offer a few words or even a gesture of comfort to his ex-girlfriend and wordlessly lets her live with the humiliation.
* CoolUncle: After Sky's father abandoned him, his uncle took Sky under his wing and taught him everything he knows about cooking. As such, Sky holds his uncle in high regard.
* DrowningMySorrows: Paul gets inebriated after he gets screwed over by the Li Group. Sky finds him drinking, and after they talk and find some common ground, they start hurling their bottles at a poster of Mountain.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Sky is able to prevent his hometown from being torn down and renovated and gets to keep his restaurant; not to mention, he finally gets his father's approval. Although Paul is horribly betrayed by the company he represents and by his own girlfriend, he manages to get even with them both in the Culinary Competition and finds his place in Sky's community.
* EnemyMine: Downplayed. After the Li Group causes a fuss at the Seven restaurant, Paul declares that he will compete ''with'' Sky in the Culinary Competition, and explains to Sky's friends and family that part of his motive for doing so is to get back at the Li Group for double-crossing him. Uncle Seven replies, "You're the enemy's enemy, and that makes you our friend." And in the TrainingMontage that follows after, it's shown that the Seven community quickly warms to Paul, who's also shown to be comfortable with their company.
* {{Foil}}: Both Sky and Paul aspire to be exemplery chefs, and it has something to do with their father, though the differentiating factor is that in Paul's case, he wants to honor his father's dying wish of him becoming a great chef. On the other hand, Sky's father believed that he had no aptitude and cooking and abandoned him to focus solely on his cooking career, and Sky is determined to prove his father wrong.

* FriendlyRivalry: Even before both chefs teamed up, both Sky and Paul have been shown to highly respect the other's abilities.

** Played with in Mayo's case. Although she keeps a stoic front when Paul and Sky are announced to be the winners of the semi-finals, it's very obvious that she is ''not'' happy about the results, being close to tears and refusing to make eye contact with Paul.
** After Sky and Paul win the semi-finals, they know that only one of them can face against Mountain in the final round. Paul doesn't hesitate to tell Sky to compete for two reasons: one, Paul's impaired taste will only detriment his chances of winning in the competition, and two, Mountain is Sky's father -- hence it only makes sense that the latter is the one who participates in the last cook-off.
** In the past, Mountain berated Sky and said that he'd never be able to make a decent bowl of noodles even if he tried, calling him talentless. Years later, in the final round of the Culinary Competition, Sky prepares a bowl of noodles for his father. Upon tasting it and finding it absolutely delicious, he doesn't hesitate to eat the rest of the bowl with gusto, even telling his son "Well done," before the latter leaves the stage.

* HumbleHero: Both Sky and Paul are talented chefs who are confident in their skills, but they never brag about it or use it as an excuse to be a jerk to others.

** Downplayed. Although it's never seen what happens to the Li Group after Mayo loses to Paul and Sky in the semi-finals, it's at least guaranteed that the loss will leave a bad hit on their public image, especially since they replaced Paul with Mayo, the latter of whom ends up getting beaten fair and square by the former (teamed up with Sky) in the competition, adding further insult to injury. And with the epilogue showing how Sky's restaurant is still flooding with customers, it's implied that both Stellar and the Li Group's reputations went south.
** Another downplayed case; although Mayo takes Paul's place as head chef and what happens to her after the Culinary Competition isn't shown, her defeat is likely to affect her credibility as a cook.

* MundaneMadeAwesome: For the semi-finals, Sky and Paul make a deconstructed dish of mapo tofu that is completely impressive presentation-wise (with one example being how the chili sauce is flawlessly marbled into the tofu) yet still captures everything that makes a mapo tofu such a striking and delicious dish, especially with its numbing spices.

** Sky may seem rough around the edges, but he deeply cares for the people in his community and wishes to prove to his father that being a good chef doesn't necessarily mean having to be ruthless and unscrupulous.

** Mayo betrayed Paul to advance her own ambitions and takes his place as the head chef of the Stellar restaurant, but ends up losing to him in the Culinary Competition, forcing her to live with the fact that no matter what, she will always be inferior to Paul and that she ultimately betrayed him for nothing. Her refusal to look at Paul in the eye out of shame says it all.
** Downplayed with Sky. Although he doesn't technically win against his father in the Culinary Competition, he does attain what he really wanted: his father's approval. How? With a humble but delicious bowl of noodles, the very same dish that his father insulted him for never being able to make well.
* RichesToRags: Downplayed. Paul may have changed jobs from a head chef of a high-end restaurant to a co-chef in Sky's restaurant, but he's much happier where he is now, especially after personally experiencing the corruption that's rampant in the upscale culinary world.
* SimpleYetAwesome: When Sky finally gets to compete against his father, what is the dish that he prepares? A bowl of noodles. Nothing flashy or innovative is done with it, but it's tasty enough to make Mountain want to eat every last bit of it and finally make him acknowledge that his son does indeed have a talent at cooking.
* SupremeChef: In spite of their different backgrounds, both Sky and Paul know how to make good food.
* TechnicianVersusPerformer: Sky (the Performer) is a skilled home cook and what he lacks in technique and visual flair, he more than makes up for with his knowledge of various tastes and of Chinese cuisine. Paul (the Technician) is someone who's good at fusion cuisine and knows all there is to know about molecular gastronomy, but he has an impaired sense of taste. Their respective strengths compensate for the other's shortcomings when they team up in the Culinary Competition.
* TrainingMontage: One happens in the latter half of the story when Sky teaches Paul about Chinese cuisine.
* UndyingLoyalty: The people in Sky's community always do everything they can to support both Sky and his business and aren't afraid to confront anyone who tries to threaten the peace in their neighborhood.
* VillainousValor: Mountain is a piece of work who abandoned Sky at a young age to advance his own culinary career. However, he never resorts to any underhanded tactics (besides splashing water in his son's face when the latter got too absorbed in his thoughts) when he and his son face against each other in the finals, and is quick to acknowledge that his son made good food.

* DrowningYourSorrows: Paul gets inebriated after he gets screwed over by the Li Group. Sky finds him drinking, and after they talk and find some common ground, they start hurling their bottles at a poster of Mountain.

* Hypocrite: The Li Group calling Paul a traitor for entering the semi-finals of the competition but not as their representative is rather rich, given that ''they're'' the ones who betrayed him because they don't think he's marketable enough in spite of his skill.

* MundaneMadeAwesome: Sky and Paul make a deconstructed dish of mapo tofu for the semi-finals that is completely impressive in terms of presentation (with one example being how the chili sauce is flawlessly marbled onto the tofu) yet still captures everything that makes a mapo tofu such a striking dish, especially with its numbing spices.

** Mayo betrayed Paul to advance her own ambitions and takes his place as the head chef of the Stellar restaurant, but ends up losing to him in the Culinary Competition, forcing her to live with the fact that no matter what, she will always be inferior to Paul and that she ultimately betrayed him for nothing. The fact that she refuses to look at Paul in the eye out of shame says it all.
** Downplayed with Sky. Although he doesn't technically win against his father in the Culinary Competition, he does attain what he really wanted: his father's approval. How? With a humble but delicious bowl of noodles, the very same dish that his father insulted him for never being able to make when he was a child.