I’m sorry, but I don’t seem to understand. What does Renata’s letter have to do with the date of Ratatouille again? There was no date on the letter nor the envelope it came in.
EDIT: I get it now. Thanks for explaining, Martin. 
Ok,so Gusteau wrote the will June 23 2001 (or is that a four), so pressumably, he died not so long after, and to acquire his restaurant, his relative had to step up in less than 2 years, so the time frame seems like it would be somewhere from as early as 2003 to 2013, so we really can’t know, that’s what I mean. All we can say is that it took place in present day.
BTW above when I said Renata’s letter I meant Gusteau’s, I will edit that now.
Mitch, MITCH!!! We need you over here!!!
why do you need mitch?
Sylvermagykan- I was joking!! 
Well here at Pixar Planet, our resident, Ratatouille obsessed member, is Mitch. Not that other people aren’t obssesed as much, or more than her, just she’s known for that here. She also has rational answers to Ratatouille related questions, she’s like an expert, but then again, all of us here are Pixar experts at different levels.
I truly believe with all my heart that Mitch is…
THE NUMBER ONE RATATOUILLE FAN!
Except of course, the Pixarians. (although I think Mitch will sometime in the future be a Pixarian herself, too)
Yes, that date was horribly written. I still think that’s a 2001, but it sorta looks like a 2004. I think it’s a 2001, though. But either way, the nearest date (assuming Linguini’s calendar’s correct) would be September 2013.
What about the TV we see at the very beginning?
That’s in colour…
Leonarduille- Yeah, that’s strange, well, it still matches the other TV’s because it’s an old TV set, but the fact that it’s in color is strange.
What’s even more interesting is that the TV at the beginning is the same model TV as Mabel’s, but later in the film, it’s black-and-white. 
so?
maybe they were made by the same company, but at different times.
Thought a bit more about the TV thing, and the thing nobody’s mentioned is that the scene taking place on the TV at Linguini’s is from the 1945 Black and White film, Brief Encounter. Given that his TV has a digital display, I would place it as post 1979, definitely color.
That’s genius, nubetre. I think we have an answer to that question now.
so…
you’re saying that the tvs not black and white, but the film?
That’s genius! Thnx for saving my sleep!