The world's first celebrity chef emerges from France. Of course.
Carême
The first two episodes premiere globally Wednesday, April 30 on Apple TV+. New episodes premiere every Wednesday through June 11. I've seen all eight episodes.
Even as a young pastry chef at his father's restaurant in early 19th century Paris, France, Antonin Carême breathes fire.
As assuredly portrayed by Benjamin Voisin, Antonin barks commands at the kitchen staff with an easy self-confidence that belies his relatively young age. Fully backed up by his father, Bailly, young Antonin never doubts that he is always right in his snap judgments on food, even when it's not cooked under his command; a simple sniff and a quick look leads to him bellowing "that's overcooked!" to a dismayed underling.
His father encourages Antonin's approach. He's perfectly fine with his son making love to his girlfriend Henrietta (Lyna Khoudri) in an area adjacent to the kitchen, but begs him to return to work as soon as possible. Thus, Antonin is suitably distressed and outraged when Bailly is dragged off to prison on false charges from the evil Fouche (Micha Lescot), Paris police chief.
The charges may have something to do with Antonin's refusal to accept a job offer to work in Napoleon Bonaparte's kitchen. A wealthy patron of the restaurant, Talleyrand (Jérémie Renier), a politician and also a bishop (?!), offers to help, but it's going to cost.
Talleyrand, naturally, has his own aims: a post in Bonaparte's government during a time when all France was still in constant turbulence. As Antonin and Henrietta carry on their relationship in secret, he seeks to gain his father's release from prison.
The second episode follows Antonin as he helps Talleyrand with his plan to keep Napoleon from passing a law to outlaw divorce. Accepting a position in Talleyrand's palatial kitchen, he meets the talented cook Agathe (Alice Da Luz), who will come to play a pivotal role in the eight-episode series.
First published in 2003, Ian Kelly's Cooking With Kings: The Life of Antonin Carême, The First Celebrity Chef details the true story of a cook who rose from poverty to international celebrity in the early 19th century, becoming influential in the advancement of haute cuisine, as well as the common usage of the toque, or chef's hat, in a career that took him throughout Europe. Widely popular, the book was adapted by Kelly for a one-man stage show the following year.
Created by Ian Kelly and Davide Serino, who also serves as lead writer, the series quickly diverges from real-life events. (The parentage of the historical Carême was never in question, for example.) This Carême walks and talks like a modern-day chef, full of bluster and precise, acidic judgements. As a result of the creators' choice, Carême is so full of himself that it's difficult to see why women are falling all over themselves to sleep with him, for example, and how anyone could stand to work with him, no matter how creative his cooking might have been.
The creators surround Carême with a framework that is more about a popular history of the post-French Revolution period than it is anything else, piling on melodrama after melodrama, with Carême's distinctive culinary skills reduced to a supporting role. It's all pretty trashy, to be honest, and occasionally becomes risible in the later episodes. (The sight of one nearly silent supporting guest character playing with a miniature guillotine as a threatening gesture made me laugh out loud.)
Even so, the drama moves along briskly, and it's always entertaining. Packed with plenty of busy streets and what look like landscapes that have been extended with visual effects, it's a 21st century vision of a historical epic from a French perspective.
Mostly, it's a lot of fun, and most of the characters are performed with conviction by an excellent cast, especially the foursome of Benjamin Voisin as the firebrand Carême, Lyna Khoudri as his mysterious lover with a secret, Alice Da Luz as a dedicated cook, and Jérémie Renier as a weary yet ever resourceful politician.
With each episode weighing in under an hour, Carême flows by at a great pace that made me hungry for more. And hungry for a tasty snack, too.
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