Eat Drink Man Woman &
Tortilla Soup
Similarities
Similarities
Eat Drink Man Woman
Tortilla Soup
• Chinese cultureTaiwan
• Three Chu daughters: Jiachien,
JiaJien, JiaNing
• No mother
• Old Wen, father’s chef friend
passes away
• Mr. Chu marries his daughter’s
friend, Jingrong
• Middle daughter is a
businesswoman with a chance
to move to Amsterdam
• Mexican cultureCalifornia
• Three Naranjo daughters:
Leticia, Carmen, Maribel
• No mother
• Gomez, father’s chef friend
passes away
• Martin Naranjo marries his
daughter’s friend, Yolanda
• Middle daughter is a
businesswoman with a chance
to move to Barcelona
Similarities Continued
EDMW
• JiaChien—chemistry
teacher who marries a P.E.
teacher
• JiaChien—devout Christian
• Love letters from students
• Mr. Chu’s sense of taste
returns in the end
• JiaJien doesn’t go to Europe
and buys the family home
Tortilla Soup
• Leticia is a chemistry teacher
who marries a P.E. teacher
• Leticia—Christian
• Love letters from students
• Martin’s taste returns in the
end
• Carmen doesn’t go to Europe
and buys the family home to
turn into a restaurant
More Similarities
EDMW
• Mr. Chu prepares daily
lunch for JingRong’s
daughter
• Mrs. Liang (JingRong’s
mother) has designs on Mr.
Chu
• Mr. Chu goes to the hospital
for a medical check-up so
he can marry JingRong
Tortilla Soup
• Martin Naranjo prepares
daily lunch for Yolanda’s
daughter
• Hortensia (Yolanda’s
mother) has designs on
Martin
• Martin gets a medical
check-up so he can marry
Yolanda
More Similarities
EDMW
• Mrs. Liang faints when she
hears the news of the
marriage.
• JiaJien’s boyfriend is a
cheater
• JiaNing’s poet boyfriend
used to be her friend’s
boyfriend
• JiaNing moves out of the
family home
TS
• So does Hortensia.
• Carmen’s boyfriend is a
cheater
• Maribel’s poet boyfriend
used to be her friend’s
boyfriend
• Maribel moves out of the
family home
More Similarities
EDMW
• Mr. Chu is a jogger
• JiaJien wanted to be a chef
& is the most beautiful
• Mr. Chu is closest to JiaJien
• Mr. Chu killed chickens for
cooking
• “Old maid” JiaChien
interrupts a volleyball game
to get Chai’s attention
TS
• Martin is a jogger
• Carmen wanted to be a chef
& is the most beautiful
• Martin is closest to Carmen
• Martin killed chickens for
cooking
• “Old maid” Leticia
interrupts a softball game to
get Orlando’s attention
Possible Writing Ideas
• An article for a food magazine about a possible
menu for an important family dinner (use
examples from both Chinese and Mexican
cooking)
• Advice column—how food can improve
relationships
• Recipes (personal & creative) example?
• Blog post about the difficulties of getting good
Chinese or Mexican food outside of those
countries (criticism of P.F. Chang’s)
More Writing Ideas
• Blog for a businesswoman who wishes she
were a chef
• The 3rd daughter’s boyfriend (philosophical)
• Interview with Carmen about the opening of
her restaurant
• Interview with Mr. Chu about his hypothetical
new restaurant
• Interview with a Chinese and a Mexican chef
about the importance of their cuisines
More Ideas
• Blog post—how to cook without a sense of
taste
• News article for a high school newspaper in
Taipei or Los Angeles about the student
pranksters who wrote the fake love letters
• Mr. Chu creates a new type of cuisine (fusion)
• Indigenous Taiwanese? Old Mexico/California
• Economics/business news article about real
estate
More Ideas
• Government report on the connection
between heart attacks and rich food
• Foods ranked by popularity & region
• Medical report on Mr. Chu or Martin’s health
• Advertisements for the restaurant or a
company ((2nd daughter’s)
• Advertisement to sell the family home
• Poster for the 3rd daughter’s art exhibit