Sexy Chef Spionaged drama is oh so French
“Carême” is perhaps the most gallic show ever made. Not because the Apple TV+ drama has enough scorching things to blush Carrie Bradshaw; Not even because the action unfolds in the political heart of Napoleonic Paris, where the realistic figures are called in as Minister of Foreign Affairs Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand (Jérémie Renier), police chief Joseph Fouché (Micha Lescot) and Empress Josephine (Maud Wyler). No, what makes this French-speaking show about French history so extra, incredibly French is the namesake of the hoofing player: a turbulent, seductive spy with one Earring who is also a groundfather of Haute Cuisine.
It is a fact that Marie-Antoine Carême (Benjamin Voisin) cooked in his legendary career for many heads of state. The subtitles of the source material of the series, a biography from 2004 by co-maker Ian Kelly, regards him as “the first celebrity chef” and a common epithet stops him as “the king of chefs and the chef of Kings.” It is less solid that a young carême played an active role in Statecraft, and yet that is exactly what this frothy, flirty and above all pleasure Show assumes. You may not think that the visual art of pastry could have a lot of influence on a potentially peace treaty between two colonial forces, but that only means that you have not completely embraced the Francophone Mindset.
In telling Kelly and main writer Davide Serino, also credited as a co-maker, Carême attracts the interest of the then consul Bonaparte (Frank Molinaro) when his knowledge of natural remedies The leader helps the leader to restore a mid-coit insert. (Not only is this carême a culinary wonder and seductive Lothario; he is also a healer. Quelle Multitasking!) Although he initially rejects an offer to join the Bonaparte household staff, Carême changes ideas when his adoptive vein, Bailly (Vincent Schmitt), is arrested for invented accusations of betrayal. From his modest galley kitchen and in a world of diplomatic intrigues, Carême becomes a pawn in the Cold War between Talleyrand, a Machiavellian twilight that stuck back into the name of a newborn Republic, and Fouché, a Draconian Wetman who is something distrust of everything that moves.
The motivations of Carême are inevitably less interesting than what they have set up: a proud ridiculous combination of governance and gastronomy. Composer Guillaume Roussel’s dizzying, maximalistic score sets the tone for a story that has been invested in all kinds of appetite. Carême goes on a road trip to Poland in the hope that his skills can convince the exiled King Louis XVIII (Sharif Andoura), a invalid gourmand, to sign an abdication letter; Carême uses a lunch with a multiple course to send a coded message to a political prisoner; Carême becomes one Josephine’s many partners in Philandering and then blackmails her to promote the agenda of Talleyrand while They have loud and powerful sexual intercourse. This Dalliance is a supplement to the more recreational complications of Carême, mainly a love triangle between herself, ladies girl Henriette (Lyna Khoudri) and sous-chef Agathe (Alice da Luz).
The winding plot is endlessly entertaining, although the details of the praised genius of the hero have unfortunately been banned to the sidelines. “Carême” offers a lot of eye candy, from vast châteaus to anachronistic confused hair to a whole pyramid made of pastries. But there is not much about what the protagonist of the same name makes such a paradigm-changing visionary, apart from some symbolic forms of rebellion, such as making chicken marengo, Napoleon’s favorite dish, with to breath! – Veal. “Carême” is often ahistoric, but not as flagrant as analogue series such as “Bridgerton.” It would be nice if the show would include the substance of Carême innovations in the same way as the reputation of Talleyrand for cunning and physical disability in his portrait. Nevertheless, “Carême” ensures a transportive experience. In that sense, it is at least related to a great meal.
The first two episodes of “Carême” now stream on Apple TV+, with remaining episodes that are broadcast on Wednesday on Wednesday.
