Movie Review: Haute Cuisine

The exotic dishes conjured up in this French comedy drama will drive you crazy. Christian Vincent’s entertaining production is based on the true story of Danièle Mazet-Delpeuch and how she was appointed as chef to Francois Mitterrand.

The film is shot in a series of flashbacks and we first meet the main character, Hortense Laborie (Catherine Frot), working in the kitchen at French research station in the Antarctic. An Australian TV journalist and her cameraman are capturing what seems to be a mundane story, until she spots the only other woman on the island. She’s told that the woman used to be the personal chef of the president of France – and thus begins Hortense Laborie’s story.

Laborie, a renowned chef from Périgord, is astonished when the President of the Republic (Jean d’Ormesson) appoints her to cook all his meals at the Élysée Palace. During her two-year stay she overcomes resentment from the male members of the kitchen staff, thanks to her culinary skills and tenacity. She seduced the president’s palate, but his dieticians weren’t impressed. She didn’t care.

The fun is watching the action in the kitchen and the kinetic energy involved in creating the various dishes, from plump escargot to duck breasts layered with delicately cooked vegetables and a cream cheese treat that requires straining through a mesh made of a particular grass.

Haute Cuisine is an appealing film, with loads of French charm and a commanding performance from Catherine Frot, who carries it all with aplomb.