Haute Cuisine

A biopic loosely based on Danièle Mazet-Delpeuch, the appointed “personal” chef of French President François Mitterrand.

In the film, the main character is Hortense Laborie (a country cook from Perigord) doing the food of grand-mère. She quickly woos the President’s palate and belly with abundant recipes of truffles and foie gras. Despite the weird storyline that takes place in separate time periods, it has some excellent cooking sequences.

My favorite scene is when the President inquires about a truffle delivery…the first ones of the season. Hortense slathers a slice of country boule with a thick spread of truffle butter, then shingles lovely slices of truffles over the butter, and serves it to him with a glass of Chateau Rayas 1969 (an exquisite scene that takes place at a stainless counter in the kitchen)…one could start to cry.