“Oh no no no, give me that. There’s like $8 of Jarlsberg in there.”
—Nate
The Devil Wears Prada 2 is in theatres now, so I thought it would be fun to revisit food from the original film. Based on the book by Lauren Weisberger—a thinly veiled “fictional” account of her year as an assistant to Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of American Vogue—the film has long surpassed its source material as a pop culture classic. Beyond the bitchy one-liners, the Miranda Priestly-isms, and the cerulean blue of it all, the film is notably remembered for one thing: how much Andy’s boyfriend, Nate, sucks.
And it’s not just Nate. Her friends suck, too. They’re so unsupportive that they almost make the superficial world of Runway seem appealing, which kind of undermines the point. There’s a level of honesty that she gets from Miranda, for all her catty cruelty, and Nigel and Emily, with their blunt critiques over her dress size and the sad state of her skirts, that she doesn’t get from the ones closest to her. They’re at least upfront about who they are. Nate and Co. hide behind an exterior of concern, which is really just a condescending dismissal of her work and ambition. I don’t think this was the filmakers’ intention, as they clearly want us to believe Andy is losing herself and side with her boyfriend (from what I can remember, in the book Miranda is much, much worse, and Nate doesn’t even exist, or at least the version from the film doesn’t), but they didn’t stick the landing because the execution points in one direction: Nate sucks.
The grilled cheese scene is inserted right after the infamous cerulean sweater monologue, and the shift is meant to contrast with the more domestic, ordinary comfort of Andy’s home life with a cheese sandwich—albeit a gourmet, elevated one. Nate stands at the stove cooking it for her as Andy complains about Miranda and the culture at Runway, and by the time she’s done bitching about it, she’s not even hungry. She refuses the sandwich, and Nate claims it for himself after whining about the $8 worth of cheese in it.
One could argue that Nate is being a good boyfriend by throwing luxurious amounts of cheese at his girlfriend and listening to her vent about work, yeah yeah yeah, but it’s also the first hint of pretension that starts to define him later in the film. Alicia Galarza on Medium already did the math on just how much $8 worth of Jarlsberg would actually amount to, and in the ongoing case against Nate, it’s another mark on the tally sheet, because what do you mean it would be almost half a pound of cheese on a single sandwich?? Also, I stand by the fact that the best cheese for a grilled cheese is a slice of artificial, plasticky Kraft American Cheese, and I will die on that hill (get off your highfalutin horse, you know I’m right.)
But the real kicker of this grilled cheese saga is that he burns it! You’re a chef, bro. You do this for a living. But you know what? Gordon Ramsey can’t make a grilled cheese either, so… maybe there’s some truth to this.
Ingredients
Method
- Thinly slice the Jarlsberg cheese into sections. Set aside.
- Butter each slice of bread and place the buttered side down in a hot pan (low heat)
- Place cheese on one bread slice, then cover with the other bread slice. Cook both sides until golden brown.
- Pro tip: Air fry the sandwich at 325 degrees for 4 minutes for extra-melty cheese.
- Drizzle with honey (This really elevated the sandwich. Trust me.)
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