Haute Cuisine is a 2012 French comedy-drama film based on the true story of Danièle Mazet-Delpeuch and how she was appointed as the private chef for François Mitterrand.[3] The original French title is Les Saveurs du Palais.[4]

Haute Cuisine
Film poster
Directed byChristian Vincent
Written byChristian Vincent
Étienne Comar
Produced byÉtienne Comar
Philippe Rousselet
StarringCatherine Frot
Arthur Dupont
Jean d'Ormesson
CinematographyLaurent Dailland
Edited byMonica Coleman
Music byGabriel Yared
Production
companies
Vendôme Production
France 2 Cinéma
Wild Bunch
Armada Films
Canal++
Distributed byWild Bunch (France)
Release dates
  • 26 September 2012 (2012-09-26) (Angoulême)
  • 19 September 2012 (2012-09-19) (France)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
Budget$9.3 million[1]
Box office$11.5 million[2]

Plot

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Hortense Laborie (Catherine Frot), a renowned chef from Périgord, is astonished when the President of the Republic (Jean d'Ormesson) appoints her as his personal chef, responsible for creating all his meals at the Élysée Palace. Despite jealous resentment from the other kitchen staff, Hortense quickly establishes herself, thanks to her indomitable spirit. The authenticity of her cooking soon seduces the President, but the corridors of power are littered with traps.[5] The story is framed by Laborie's later role cooking at a French Antarctic research station.

Cast

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Production

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Parts of the movie were actually filmed at the Élysée Palace, in a three-day shooting window where filming was only allowed when then President Nicolas Sarkozy was not at the palace.[6]

Iceland served as a stand-in for the Crozet islands[7] in the movie. The film crew spent six days there to film on location.[6]

Reception

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The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 68% approval rating with an average rating of 6.1/10 based on 31 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "While it'll certainly be an easier sell for foodie filmgoers, Haute Cuisine's beautifully filmed biopic should satisfy most viewers hungry for a beautifully filmed dramedy."[8] On Metacritic, it has a score of 61 out of 100 based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Les Saveurs du palais (Haute Cuisine) (2012) – JPBox-Office".
  2. ^ "Haute Cuisine".
  3. ^ "Daniele Mazet-Delpeuch's Life in Haute Cuisine". Huffington Post. 20 September 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  4. ^ "Saveurs du palais". unifrance.org. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  5. ^ "Haute Cuisine"
  6. ^ a b Cardy, Tom (26 February 2013). "A French treat in Haute Cuisine film". The Dominion Post. Wellington. Retrieved 26 September 2019 – via Stuff.
  7. ^ "Ode to food's power serves palace intrigue with humanity". 24 April 2013.
  8. ^ "Haute Cuisine (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  9. ^ "Haute Cuisine". Metacritic. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
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