20+ Magical 'Ratatouille' Quotes And Facts That Remind You Of Paris And Food

Paris is magical. Paris is gorgeous. Paris belongs to the rats. At least that’s what we all learned from Ratatouille, Disney and Pixar’s absolutely gorgeous love letter to the city of love and food. The sweet story of a rat and wannabe-chef Remy who gets separated from his family but finds his true calling in the city of lights remains a classic nearly 15 years after its premier.

With a gaggle of human and rat friends in toe, Remy saves a storied Parisian restaurant, teaching us the wisest lessons this side of the Seine. With that magic and love of food still in the air, we rounded up the best quotes and facts from Ratatouille, including poignant lines from Remy, Chef Gusteau, Colette, and more. Bon appétit.

1. “Paris? All these times I’ve been underneath Paris?” — Remy

2. “If you are what you eat, then I only want to eat the good stuff.” – Remy

3. “[Humans] don’t just survive; they discover; they create. … I mean, just look at what they do with food!” – Remy

4. “A chef makes. A thief takes.” — Gusteau

5. “You’re in Paris now, baby. My town.” — Remy

6. “Anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great.” – Gusteau

7. “All this cooking and reading and TV-watching while we cook and read. It’s like you’re involving me in crime!” – Emile

8. “I can’t believe it! A real gourmet kitchen, and I get to watch!” – Remy

9. Remy: “What… Are you eating?”

Emile: “I don’t really know. I think it was some sort of… wrapper once.”

10. “Haute cuisine is an antiquated hierarchy built upon rules written by stupid old men, rules designed to make it impossible for wom­en to enter this world.” – Colette

11. François: “What are corn dogs?”

Chef Skinner: “Cheap sausages dipped in batter and deep-fried. You know? American.”

12. “People think haute cuisine is snooooty, so chef must also be snooty. But not so.” – Sous chef Colette

13. Django: “This is the way things are. You can’t change nature.”

Remy: “Change is nature, Dad. The part that we can influence. And it starts when we decide.”

14. “Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.” – Food critic Anton Ego

15. “In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the *new*. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations. The new needs friends. Last night, I experienced something new: an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau’s famous motto, “Anyone can cook.” But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist; but a great artist *can* come from *anywhere*. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau’s, who is, in this critic’s opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau’s soon, hungry for more.” – Anton Ego

16. “Keep your stations clear or I will kill you!” — Colette

17. Skinner: “What are you doing in here?”

Linguini: “I’m just familiarizing myself with, you know, the vegetables and such.” Skinner: “Get out. One can get too familiar with vegetables, you know!”

18. “Ratatouille doesn’t sound delicious. It sounds like ‘rat’ and ‘patootie.’ Rat-patootie.” – Linguini

19. “This is me. I think it’s apparent that I need to rethink my life a little bit. What’s my problem? First of all, I’m a rat. Which means, life is hard. Second, I have a highly developed sense of taste and smell.” — Remy 20. “You think cooking is a cute job, eh? Like mommy in the kitchen? Well mommy never had to face the dinner rush where all the meals are different and none are simple with all the different cooking times and they must all arrive at the customer’s table at exactly the same time, hot and perfect! Every second counts, and you cannot be mommy!” — Colette

21. Colette : Horst has done time.Linguini : What for?

Colette : No one know for sure. He changes the story every time you ask him.

[Horst is shown telling his story at different times]

Horst : I defrauded a major corporation.

Horst : I robbed the second-largest bank in France using only a ball-point pen.

Horst : I created a hole in the ozone over Avignon.

Horst : I killed a man… with *this* thumb!

22. “Hey, boss, look who it is! Alfredo Linguini! Renata’s little boy! All grown up, eh? You remember Renata. Gusteau’s old flame?” — Larousse

Ratatouille Fun Facts

23. During a research trip in Paris, filmmakers took 4,500 reference photographs.

24. Skinner’s name was a reference to behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner, who became famous for his rat experiments.