Remy and Roddy Open A Restaurant

Two animated rats are living very different lives until fate, and the sewer, brings them together.

Remy is living life in Paris, running his successful restaurant, La Ratatouille. Always the perfectionist, Remy is starting to feel the strain of working constantly. With a little push from his family and his co-owners Linguini and Colette, Remy decides that it's time for a little vacation. He packs up his thimble-sized suitcase and heads to the Channel Tunnel. He's never visited the UK before, but Remy is a practiced stowaway. Soon, he is London bound. As the train lulls him to sleep, he dreams of the delicious British cuisine that surely awaits him upon arrival. It might be nice to get a break from Paris, from the monotony of work, and try something new.

Roddy St. James, meanwhile, spends his days exploring the sewers of London aboard the Jammy Dodger II. Having abandoned his life of luxury above ground, he has found a joyful new life (which mainly consists of doing odd jobs for his friend and ship captain, Rita). While Roddy has adapted to his life underground, he still carries himself with the poise and pomp of the Kensington gentleman he is. If only there was something he could do to really establish himself. A purpose of some kind.....

London isn't at all what Remy expected. He misses the charm of the streets of Paris, he misses his family, and he misses the food. The food! He never expected the travesty that is English cuisine. Everything is bland, or fried, or just plain uninspired. Where is the seasoning? He's scampered all over the city, seen Buckingham Palace, even ridden the Jubilee Line, and the most exciting food he's seen is prawn crackers. He's eaten nothing but peanuts from street carts since he arrived, sheerly out of principle. Leftover fish and chips will not cut it for this rat.

Overcome with a sense of homesickness, Remy decides to visit someplace familiar—the sewer. The London Underground comes as a pleasant surprise. It's nothing like the ordinary slimy tunnels back home. Instead, Remy enters a tiny replica London, complete with its own Tower Bridge, Big Ben, and annoying American tourists.

Now this I can work with, he thinks.

That's when the Jammy Dodger II comes around the bend and splashes to a stop. Roddy's never been the best driver. A miniature tidal wave engulfs Remy, who stands dripping with his suitcase, too stunned to speak.

"Oh my goodness, I'm terribly sorry!" shouts Roddy as he hops ashore to lend a hand. "Are you alright?"

Who does this rat think he is in his fancy dress shirt, flying around on his boat without any regard for others? "I didn't know it rained underground in England." grumbles Remy.

"Oh, are you visiting from abroad? I hope I didn't give you the wrong impression. Here, come aboard and I'll get you dried off and give you a tour, my friend."

Roddy extends his hand.

"Roddy St. James, at your service."

"I'd really rather not," says Remy flatly. Roddy's smile falters, but he recovers quickly.

"Look, I'm really sorry about this. How about I whip you up something to eat? An English specialty."

Roddy wiggles his eyebrows. Remy is about to refuse, but just then his stomach grumbles loudly. Maybe something other than peanuts isn't a bad idea. Reluctantly, he shakes Roddy's hand.

"Remy."

"Remy! Where are you visiting from Remy?"

"Paris."

"The city of love! I've always wanted to see it. Come on, I'll find you a towel and something to eat and you can tell me all about it."

Despite himself, Remy is charmed by this rat. He follows him aboard the Jammy Dodger II. A tour guide might be helpful, even if he is annoying.

While Roddy steers the boat around the city, pointing out landmarks as they go, he putters around the kitchen. Remy would like to relax, but every time Roddy takes his hands off the steering wheel Remy has to jump in to prevent yet another unfortunate accident. Remy's patience is starting to wear whisker-thin, but before he can ask to be dropped off and get far away from this rat and his boat, Roddy appears with two steaming plates of food.

"Can't let you go back home without trying a toad in the hole. Not to brag, but my recipe is legendary."

Roddy sets down the plates of sausage, Yorkshire pudding and gravy. It's no better than the food above ground, but at least it's hot. Remy stifles a sigh and tentatively tries a bite. Roddy at least has the good manners to take over steering the ship.

"What do you think?" asks Roddy.

"It's something alright."

While the sausages and gravy are nothing special, Remy has to admit that the Yorkshire pudding is at least something new. Light, pillowy, savoury and a little sweet. Other than that though, It's hard to imagine this recipe as "legendary." Roddy picks up on Remy's tone.

"But?"

"No offence, Mr. St. James."

"Roddy."

"Roddy. The food in this city, it's just... uninspired."

The understatement of the century, thinks Remy.

"What do you mean?"

The little chef can't take it anymore. All he wanted was to get away from work, and now he has to spend his time educating this pompous, clueless Englishrat about what good food is.

"I mean has anyone here ever experienced real flavour? The tang! The heat! The richness! Well, there's plenty of richness actually, but still! Here, let me show you!"

Now it's Roddy's turn to be speechless as Remy grabs his paw and takes him to the kitchen. The remnants of their meal still scatter the room. Without a word, he starts rustling around the kitchen. In seconds, there is a white sauce bubbling on the stove, and an assortment of vegetables cut into all kinds of shapes and sizes.

Remy is back in his element, and even he has to admit, he's having fun.

"See, food doesn't have to be complicated, but it does need to compliment. We need something to counterbalance all the umami of the sausage. So we have some lightly pickled veg to cut through it. Then we take that sausage, add some spices to create a whole new flavour! The Béchamel elevates the Yormire pudding–"

"Yorkshire," interjects Roddy.

"Yorkshire, right. And soon you have a whole new dish. It's still the same idea, just with a new twist. Try it."

To his credit, Roddy is a good sport. That at least, Remy can appreciate.

"Make sure you get a bit of everything," says Remy.

When Roddy takes his first bite, he is transported. Somehow, everything works together to create a symphony of flavours and smells and textures. He's never had anything like it before.

"Who in the world are you?" he asks.

"I'm a chef," Remy replies simply as he samples his creation. Delicious, just as he expected.

"My gosh, we've got to show this to people! There's a whole other world of flavour out there! Can you do this with any dish?"

Roddy is pacing circles around the kitchen, a new light behind his eyes. Remy knows his food is good, but this is surprising, even for him.

"I mean, sure. It's what I do."

"How long are you in London?"

Roddy grabs Remy by the shoulders, and gives him a little shake.

“Umm, I don't know, I was thinking a week. Maybe two.”

"Two weeks! Well, we have no time to lose! We will have to find a location, of course, and find a design; a persona. You'll handle the menu. I'll take care of everything else. Don't you worry, Remy my friend. I've got connections in this city. It'll be tight, but I think we can make it happen."

"Make what happen?" Remy's head is starting to spin.

"The restaurant! With your culinary skill and my unmatched eye for quality, we can have the most popular eatery in all of London! Think of all we can accomplish!"

"Roddy, I have a restaurant. In Paris. How can I possibly have one here too?"

"You just worry about the food. I'll take care of the rest."

Doubts fill Remy's mind. It's crazy. A few minutes ago, he would've given anything to get away from this rat. But Roddy seems so confident. His excitement is infectious. And isn' this just what Remy came for? A chance to branch out, to make something new? Ideas for dishes are already starting to form in his mind. An opportunity to bring his love for food to a whole new city is hard to turn down.

"You better be right about this," Remy says, his eyes boring into Roddy's. The two rats look at each other, and smiles start to spread across their faces. For the second time that day, they shake hands.

It is the craziest two weeks of their lives. Roddy calls in every favour he has to find a prime location on the river, and throws himself into finding the perfect tablecloths, the perfect chairs, the perfect light fixtures. Even the kitchen backsplash has to be exact. No detail is too small. Remy, with Rita and her family as sous chefs, whips up new twists on English classics. Shephards pie, the Full English breakfast, toffee pudding, and even Remy's dreaded fish and chips. Everything is familiar, but exciting. In the blink of an eye, it's the grand opening.

Roddy and Remy stand outside their new restaurant, side by side.

"We really did it," says Remy.

"Of course we did," Roddy answers.

Over the past weeks, Roddy has really impressed Remy. He never complained, he just worked. This restaurant never would've come together without him. Remy is shocked to find that he is a little sad at the thought of going home.

"You know, I have to go back to Paris now," he says cautiously.

"Why do you think I've had you training all these people? Now they can take care of the food while you're gone. You'll visit, of course. No excuses. We need our head chef to make an appearance every once in a while."

He pats Remy on the back. Always with the can-do attitude, Roddy St. James.

"You know what Roddy, I'm glad you almost hit me with your boat." says Remy.

"Well that's a bit dramatic. But me too. Now, are you ready to get this show on the road? Guests will be here soon."

Remy dons his chef's hat, rubbing his hands together.

"Absolutely."

The two stride toward the front door. Just before they enter, Roddy gasps.

"Oh good heavens! How could I forget! We don't have a name Remy! Every restaurant needs a name!"

"Well that one's easy." Remy smiles at Roddy's stricken face.

"Toad in the Hole."