#The most mouth-watering food porn moments in classic films

Tide yourself over until your favorite restaurants fully reopen with these scrumptious on-screen eats — because if there were Emmys 2020 for food porn, these movies would sweep the “Yummy Awards.”

There are myriad examples of iconic food scenes now streaming on Netflix, Hulu, Disney+ and Amazon Prime: From Jack Nicholson’s hilariously circuitous toast order in the 1970 cult classic “Five Easy Pieces” to Dr. Lecter’s revolting culinary lobotomy in 2001’s “Hannibal.”

Despite making for movie magic, the dishes depicted don’t always look edible, and as is the case in “Hannibal,” many aren’t — not for civilized humans, anyways. Meanwhile, some on-screen noshes merely serve as background props or devices to drive the plot and develop character rather than induce salivation.

Still, some cinematic cuisine scenes are so mouthwatering, they make viewers want to stick a fork in your TV screen.

As a service to hungry cinephiles with adventurous palates, we’ve corralled 14 food porno-graphic flicks that are a feast for the eyes.

1. “Chef” (2014)

“Chef” split audiences, with some cult devotees deeming it a heartfelt love letter to indie cuisine crafters — and others deriding it as a half-baked “nom-com” with extra cheese. However, once they get past Sofía Vergara’s character operating a food truck, viewers agree that the food porn is orgasmic. Even a scene as simple as a grilled cheese sizzling on the griddle elicits tsunamis of saliva. The naturalistic dishes are a testament to “Chef” director, producer and actor Jon Favreau working with bona fide “Top Chef” cooks to prep for the role. And, in an added dollop of realism, Oliver Platt plays a fictionalized version of his brother and real-life food critic Adam Platt. Scarlett Johansson sultrily slurping spaghetti doesn’t hurt, either.

---

2. “Ratatouille” (2007)

Food in animated films generally amounts to pixelated blobs. However, Pixar’s “Ratatouille” changed the game with sumptuous CG cuisine that looks ripped straight from French fine dining institutions — because it was. Thomas Keller, the legendary restaurateur behind the French Laundry and Per Se, had a big hand in making the foodie flick’s animated dishes come to life. Even “Ratatouille’s” culinarily-inclined rodent protagonist is modeled after the famous chef. “The way Remy slices the ingredients, the way each is considered and handled as if it matters as much as the dish as a whole — that’s Keller,” according to Zak Pelaccio, the former saucier at the French Laundry. The result is a porn-ucopia of authentic-looking French fare — including the film’s vegetable namesake, with juices that practically squirt off the TV screen.

---

3. “Matilda” (1996)

The chocolate cake in 1996’s “Matilda” really shouldn’t make our mouths water. It’s completely inappropriate: made with the literal “sweat and blood” of a sniveling old lunch lady, served by a masochistic principal in front of an auditorium’s worth of pitying children. But against all odds, watching poor Bruce Bogtrotter (Jimmy Karz) stuff his face with that moist monstrosity using his grubby little hands was inexplicably appetizing. Bruce laps up every last crumb, holding the plate over his head like a trophy as his classmates go wild. It’s a victory for Bruce, but more so for disgustingly huge chocolate cake, in any form.

---

4. “Big Night” (1996)

Like “Chef,” Stanley Tucci’s “Big Night” highlights the eternal struggle between art and commerce using food as its muse. However, this Italian-American foodie film better blends its ingredients, both film and food-wise. The third act even allows viewers to vicariously enjoy a lavish multi-course dinner, the highlight being Timpano — a crackling pasta carapace that’s tiered with noodles, eggs, mozzarella and more like a salacious lasagna on steroids.

---

5. “GoodFellas” (1990)

Mafia flicks and munchies go together like marinara and meatballs. Arguably the most revered gastronomic gangster scene is the prison dinner in Martin Scorsese’s “GoodFellas,” after mob rat Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) gets booked for extortion. Through various bribes and hoosegow hacks, the wise guys are able to turn an austere cell into a La Catedral-esque banquet hall. Fresh lobster gets trucked in, Paulie (Paul Sorvino) shaves off garlic slices with a razor and Johnny Dio (Frank Pellegrino) pan-roasts ribeyes in a jailhouse jamboree for the ages — even if Vinny (Charles Scorsese) does “put too many onions in the sauce.”

---

6. “Call Me By Your Name” (2017)

In the movie’s most infamous scene, Timothée Chalamet’s young Elio pleasures himself with a peach — after removing the rough pit, of course — and his older paramour Oliver (Armie Hammer) teasingly tries to sample the forbidden fruit’s new, um, topping. Elio tries to stop him, leading to a tender embrace as Elio sobs and implores, “I don’t want you to go.” The scene is more of a heartbreaking moment than a sexual tour de force between two doomed lovers who will inevitably be torn apart. But the peach brings anticipatory heat for the viewer, who is initially left to wonder, “Is Oliver really going to taste it?” Food porn sure doesn’t get any juicier — or more intimate — than that.

---

7. “Pulp Fiction” (1994)

Few scenes have etched themselves into culinary lore like Samuel L. Jackson’s hamburger gambit in Quentin Tarantino’s opus. For the uninitiated, this mouthwatering scene involves two-hitmen, played by Jackson and John Travolta, shaking down a ring of fast food-loving criminals. To get them to cough up the money, Jackson eats their lunch for them, all while giving an impromptu food review. An intimidation audit might not sound like a recipe for a great food scene, but Jackson’s performance made us crave Big Kahuna Burger nonetheless. Alas, the Hawaiian-themed fast-food chain doesn’t exist in real life.

---

8. “Like Water For Chocolate” (1992)

You could hold a college symposium on the sex metaphors expressed in this Mexican “coming” of age flick’s food — they’re more abundant than in “Caligula.” The climax comes when the sexually-repressed Tita (Lumi Cavazos) cooks squabs in some ravishing rose petal sauce, making her sisters Rosaura (Yareli Arizmendi) and Gertrudis (Claudette Maillé ) fall head-over-heels in “dove.”

---

9. “When Harry Met Sally” (1989)

It’s not so much that the Katz’ pastrami sandwich at the heart of one of cinema’s most iconic scenes is particularly alluring. If we’re being honest, it looks a little dry. It could maybe use some mustard. But the “When Harry Met Sally” moment is nevertheless pornographic, thanks to Sally’s titillating quest to make a deli full of onlookers want what she was having. The Meg Ryan performance’s enduring legacy has inspired decades of fans to have a go at it themselves, says owner Jake Dell. “It happens at least once a week, if not more, and more likely at 3 in the morning than 3 in the afternoon,” Dell told The Post in 2019. “It’s from men, women, people young and old. We’ve seen everyone do it.”

---

10. “The Lunchbox” (2013)

When it comes to food porn, this Indian film is the culinary Kama Sutra. The basic premise is a young woman (Nimrat Kaur) sending homemade lunches to her working husband via Mumbai’s Harvard-acclaimed “dabbawallah system“ where bike couriers deliver food to customers in metal tiffins. However, through miscommunication, her sumptuous scratch-made meals inadvertently end up at the house of an elderly widower (Irrfan Yaseen Khan). Suffice to say, her delicious food prompts the heartsick retiree to try and track down the source of such scrumptiousness. With alluring Indian classics such as Bharwan Karela (stuffed bitter gourd) and Paneer Kofta Masala (cheese ball curry), how can we blame him?

---

11. “Eat Drink Man Woman” (1994)

The title for Ang Lee’s Taiwanese coming-of-age flick is based on the saying “man’s primary desires are to eat, drink, and have sex” from the Chinese classic “Book Of Rites.” So it’s no surprise that food and sex are intertwined like spicy beef noodles in this family comedy. EDMW’s eats are less aphrodisiacs than adhesives the aging patriarch (Sihung Lung) uses to keep his family together amidst his headstrong daughters’ pursuing life and love. With daddy whipping up everything from braised pork belly to Peking Duck, it’s a wonder they leave the house at all.

---

12. “Parasite” (2019)

What does the South Korean elite crave? Some pretty delicious dishes, like Ram-Don — local slang for jjapaguri — a stonerific speedball of two instant noodle packs in one bowl. In Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning movie, the rudimentary dish comes with several slices of high-end Wagyu beef, symbolizing the clash of rich and poor in the film. Best of all, you can make this dish easily at home by viewing the plethora of YouTube cooking tutorials. (Also food-related: Joon-Ho’s film sparked sales of a cult-favorite potato chip from Spain.)

 

---

13. “9 1/2 Weeks” (1986)

It’s the infamous soft-core scene that put the “mmmmmm” into S&M. The domineering Mickey Rourke empties the fridge to hand-feed Kim Basinger everything from syrup-dripping maraschino cherries to, well, cough syrup in director Adrian Lyne’s erotic drama based on Elizabeth McNeil’s cult classic kink memoir.

---

14. “Babette’s Feast” (1987)

The titular Babette serves what The Post once declared “arguably the most famous meal ever committed to celluloid.”

During the late 19th century, a strict religious community in a Danish village takes in a French refugee (the late Stéphane Audran, who earned a BAFTA nod for her haunting performance) from the Franco-Prussian War as a servant to the late pastor’s old maid daughters in this winner of the Oscar for what used to be known as the “Best Foreign Language” film.

A long-time cook (for a couple of old maids and a church congregation) wins the lottery — and spends the money preparing a delicious dinner for them all to share. In the end, the film’s official plot synopsis says it all: “More than just a feast, the meal is an outpouring of Babette’s appreciation, an act of self-sacrifice. Babette tells no one that she is spending her entire winnings on the meal.”