Rats are no strangers to rejection, but Remy, a rat who longs to be a great chef, has more than the usual obstacles to overcome. His remarkable sense of smell and genius for combining flavors puts him head and shoulders above most human chefs. However, in the rat world he's resigned to a life of being the "poison sniffer," using his unique talent to pick out the "safe" garbage for his family to eat. Remy hates the idea of stealing and eating garbage at all; he considers himself a maker, not a taker. When he's not out scrounging around for the few gourmet scraps he can safely get his hands on, he is busy poring over his most prized possession, a battered cookbook by the late, great chef Auguste Gusteau. When circumstances literally drop him in the kitchen of Gusteau's, his idol's world famous restaurant in Paris, France, Remy finds himself living his dream of cooking, albeit unconventionally, in a real kitchen.