Chef's Special

Chef's Special (Spanish: Fuera de carta) is a 2008 Spanish film directed by Nacho G. Velilla. It stars Javier Cámara, Benjamín Vicuña, Lola Dueñas, and Fernando Tejero. It centers on homosexuality and the decision to come out, following men who have had relationships with women to hide their own sexuality, to the point of even having kids. The film also deals with the theme of single parents.

Maxi is the chef and owner of a restaurant, Xantarella, who aspires to win a Michelin Star but is having financial difficulties. He helps Alex, a maître d’ who is desperately looking for a boyfriend. It has been a while since Maxi has come out of the closet and declared his homosexuality. Since then, he left behind his wife and his two children whom he has not seen in the last seven years. His wife's death leads him to have to take care of his two estranged kids. Meanwhile, an Argentinian soccer player, Horacio, comes into Maxi and Alex's lives and passes himself off as heterosexual when in reality he is homosexual. The film develops from the love triangle formed between Maxi, Álex, and Horacio, Maxi's responsibility to his kids, and the future of the restaurant.

The film premiered in Spain on 11 April 2008 and was a success in the box office, earning almost €1 million in its first weekend and ending the year as the sixth highest-grossing Spanish film grossing €5,11 million.

The critical reception was not as favorable, receiving negative reviews from important publications like El País, El Mundo, and ABC.^{[citation needed]}