Haute Cuisine

When: Today (Saturday), 2 p.m.

Where: Empire Capitol 6

Rating: Two stars

It must have sounded delicious on paper — a fact-based film about a modest, creative and aloof cook summoned from the Perigord region to become former French president Francois Mitterrand’s personal chef at the Elysée Palace. While it doesn’t fall as flat as a botched souffle, this French culinary comedy-drama is certainly just as light, and far from the mouthwatering food porn you might have expected. It’s more alienating than flavourful, largely because of director Christian Vincent’s ill-advised framing device — the main character’s half-baked experiences as a chef hounded by a couple of Australian documentary filmmakers at a research base in the Antarctic. These awkwardly cut to flashbacks to her luxurious gig a few years earlier when, to the consternation of the chauvinistic old guard, she pleased the palate of the president with a yearning for provincial cuisine. Catherine Frot is terrific as the no-nonsense chef thrust into the spotlight, and there are enough tasty food-preparation sequences to whet the appetites of forgiving foodies. They’re the ones most likely to savour this dish despite its imperfections.

© Copyright 2013