The thought of French cuisine transports me to an elegant restaurant flowered with marble and waiters in tuxedos. Quite the imagination, but I can’t help but realise that there is SO MUCH MORE to the cuisine than its stereotypical elegance. So, what else could there be apart from the pristinely plated food? Well, take my recommendation and watch the French movie Haute Cuisine directed by Christian Vincent.
Scattered with an undeniable passion for the kitchen, the protagonist Hortense, delivers flashbacks of her time as the French president’s private kitchen cook. Vincent frames her cookery with so much attention, with the careful cutting of the salmon stuffed cabbage and delicate piping of grand memé’s crème on the St. Honoré. It’s clear this is a foodie’s dream movie! It just makes you hungry!
Stuffed Cabbage 
St. Honoré
More importantly, Vincent spotlights the importance of simplicity and freshness in French Haute Cuisine. Living up to Carême’s ideologies, the importance of regionality and fresh produce is brought to light in a very special manner, such as when Hortense sources perfect quality produce from each region and when she uses her region’s truffle for an evening special with the president. Moreover, he differentiates nouvelle cuisine and haute cuisine with the difference in preparation of the main kitchen vs the private kitchen.
Likewise, gender is explored as stark contrasts between how women and men are treated in the world of cuisine are made. Juxtaposing the main kitchen’s men in pristine white clothing and the ‘private’ kitchen in which Hortense is portrayed as rustic, he focuses on how women are perceived as ‘home cooks’ while men are the ‘professional cooks.’
This film is simply spectacular!
For the Love of Europe 