From Blumhouse and the producers of M3GAN [reviewed here] comes a story about a woman known only as “Chef,” who comes to learn the hard way that if you can’t handle the heat, you should stay out of the kitchen.

Starring Ariana DeBose, the film follows the food connoisseur as she makes her way towards opening her own restaurant, albeit with mysterious mishaps along the way.

Living at the same abandoned hillside location in which she plans to set up shop, everything between her business partner Andres (Succession’s Arian Moayed) and Chef is going to plan until a strange infestation takes root in the land.

The rot claims all of Chef’s carefully arranged meal plans, leading to the discovery of a hidden secret garden behind the property – one whose forbidden fruits only show their true malice after the desperate Chef works her new findings into her new and improved menu, soon to be served to a room full of unsuspecting clientele.

Tormented by forces she can’t explain, Chef’s dreams begin painting a picture of a woman who farmed the land years ago. As a sold-out opening night swiftly approaches, Chef becomes convinced that the wronged spirit of a witch occupies the house. With secrets being uncovered, an ever-present clock ticking down to zero, and her entire career on the line, it’s unclear whether the terror she feels is truly the work of witchcraft, or an act of self-sabotage by a girl scared to death of her own power.

I was lucky enough to have a quick chat with star Ariana DeBose during her time at Fantastic Fest and learn about her wonderful work in House of Spoils. I gushed over her latest project, and she told me all about developing a friendship with her co-star Barbie Ferreira of Euphoria fame on and off set, why she believes her character’s true name is never revealed, what it’s like working with inspiring female filmmakers like Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy, and how she went from being a southern girl who knows her way around a kitchen to portraying a believable top tier chef in the culinary world. 

Interview with Ariana DeBose

Kalyn Corrigan: I love this film, it’s so cool and weird and hyper specific. What did you and Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy talk about initially with respect to the part of your chef?

Ariana DeBose: Oh, I love those gals. I just think they’re so badass. And how cool is it to have, you know, a female directing, screenwriting duo? I jumped at the chance to work with them really.

And initially, we dove right in by discussing why her name was Chef. And to me it was really obvious, like, she is a woman defined solely by her work. And how relatable is that? Like how many times have we, as individuals, felt like our work was our everything, whether it’s the way we wanted it or not? You know, I thought that would be something that audiences could relate to.

And then just kind of what that meant when you are, in the workforce, as an ambitious female, what do you have to do to carve a path on your own merits? Right? How many lumps do you have to take? What toxicity do you even unconsciously ingest and then have to process, you know, based off of the experiences that you’re having?

Um, and so I was like, this is wild, and fascinating and probably going to be really uncomfortable, but let’s do it. Yeah.

Do you cook? Are you familiar with this level of artistry involved with cooking? Did you go down a research rabbit hole for this? How did you prepare?

Yeah, I mean, I grew up in the South, you know, so I was kind of raised in a kitchen. My grandma, like, cooking is her love language, so I knew my way around a kitchen, but not to the extent that I was going to need to be able to execute this character skill set.

So I, you know, the internet’s a treasure trove of information. So, I read articles, and interviews, and watched documentaries and watched YouTube videos that literally are just like in Michelin star kitchens so you can see how it moves.

And then, I also, I got myself in a kitchen and you know, with Chef Ayesha [Nurdjaja] down at Shukette in Chelsea here in New York. That was so eye-opening, and she helped me sharpen my knife skills. It’s not a game. It is so not a game.

And then when I got to Budapest to make the movie, I continued to train with our food stylist Zoe Hegedus. And she was creating all of the meals, all of the plates that you were going to see in the film. So she literally taught me how to make them. And, you know, with her and her associate, Kristof Szasz, I now know how to make an incredible sirloin. Like, very proud of that. 

That’s awesome. 

It’s like, if I like you, and I make you a sirloin, that’s a sign, because I’m not whipping out that skill for everybody. You know what I mean?

Absolutely, no, that’s devotion. Yeah, and I love the dynamic between you and Barbie Ferreira as competitors turned friends and collaborators, your relationship feels so authentic. What was it like developing that friendship with her on and off set?

Yeah, Barbie is incredible. I’m such a fan of her work, but I’m also a fan of her as a human. We had some really wonderful talks, and wonderful nights out in Hungary actually, which is great. It was a good group of people, but it was fun to explore these characters together, especially after we sort of like, inherently had a nice rapport, you know, off camera.

Some of the things that they say to each other, specifically the chef says to Lucia, are just horrifying. Again, like exploring that toxicity that you sometimes unconsciously take on, because you don’t even realize that that’s, you’ve taken on this idea that, oh, this is how I’ve seen leadership executed. This is what I have to do to be great. It’s actually not the truth.

And we did discuss that it is challenging for women, I’m sure, in the culinary world, but also in entertainment. Sometimes, you start to think that there’s not room for everyone, and there aren’t enough jobs to go around, and some people are very cutthroat. I wish I could say that that’s still not a truth, but it is.

I’m a realist, and you know, I and Barbie we did talk about like, oh, there’s a better way. Kindness is free. You should spread that stuff like sparkles.