Le Chef

A kitchen comedy set in Paris. Alexandre is the chef of a three-star restaurant. He has been making the same dishes for years and cannot write the new menu. The restaurant's owner has died. His son has taken over the company and is interested in the share price rather than the food; he wants Alexandre out. He sets a condition. The star assessment is coming; if the rating drops, the contract ends. Jacky works as a painter. He knows the cookbooks by heart, recites recipes to the gram, and is dismissed from every job because he interferes with the customers' food. His wife is pregnant and expects him to hold down proper work. The two meet. Alexandre takes him into the kitchen. From there the film is a story about preparing a menu. Tasting, trials, a garden, a market and a last night. The company applies pressure as well. The fashion for molecular cooking is pushed forward, and Alexandre being asked for foams and gels is the narrative's source of jokes. What the narrative is interested in is not food but generations: the film does not condemn the new technique; its real concern is who owns a piece of work. The section where they go into a Japanese restaurant in disguise is its best known scene. The day of the assessment comes and the result does not resolve the way you expect. Jean Reno, Michaël Youn, Raphaëlle Agogué and Santiago Segura are in the cast. Daniel Cohen directed and co-wrote. Who it is for: anyone who likes light French comedy and films about food. Who it is not for: anyone looking for surprise; the narrative follows a familiar road and the characters are types.