The ``mother's taste'' that impressed Mitterrand in ``The Haute Cuisine.'' What was the bitter secret ingredient there?

“The Haute Cuisine” synopsis

Hortense, who runs a small restaurant in the countryside, is scouted and brought to work at the Elysée Palace. It turned out to be the private kitchen of the French presidential palace. Amidst a rigid menu, a disciplined eating style, and jealous government chefs, she creates a variety of dishes that pursue the true meaning of ``delicious.'' At first, her colleagues looked at her from a distance, but before they knew it, they were inspired by her cooking skills and passion, and little by little, a new atmosphere began to blow in the kitchen of the Prime Minister's residence. One day, when there was no leftover food left on the president's plate, he approached her directly and a surprising story came out of his mouth.

People connect through food. This film adaptation of a true story depicts this wonderful relationship between the heart and the tongue, set in the French presidential palace, commonly known as the Elysée Palace.

Index

• Female chef appointed as President Mitterrand's personal chef
• Nostalgic taste represented by scrambled eggs with porcini
• Why did she leave the Elysée Palace and come to Antarctica?
• Are women really not suited to be chefs?

Female chef appointed as President Mitterrand's personal chef

This work is based on the experiences of Daniel Delpusch, who worked for two years as the personal chef of François Mitterand, the 21st President of France. She runs the secondary kitchen, and the main kitchen is crowded with a large number of male chefs, who prepare the highest quality French cuisine for official banquets held at the Elysée Palace. The world of cooking is truly a man's world.

I'll write about this issue of sexism later, but first I'd like to introduce you to the exquisite cuisine created with passion by the heroine Hortense (Catherine Flo, nominee for Best Actress at the 38th César Awards), who is modeled after Delpusche. It is the ``mother's taste'' that impressed Mitterrand, who is known as a foodie.

“The Haute Cuisine” preview

Nostalgic taste represented by scrambled eggs with porcini

Hortense came all the way to the Elysée Palace for the president from Périgord, a rural town in southwestern France known for producing high-quality truffles. She immediately begins to quickly make whatever dish comes to mind.

Salmon farci spread thinly between cabbage leaves to create a mille-feuille-like finish, asparagus potage, scrambled eggs with porcini, beef fillet pastry, and berry tart. All of these are the ``mother's taste,'' or for some people, the ``grandma's taste,'' which all French people have been familiar with since childhood.

Satisfied with the taste of Hortense, the President tells her: ``For me, scrambled eggs with porcini is exactly what my grandmother tasted like.''

By the way, President Mitterrand will be played by author and journalist Jean d'Ormesson (who passed away in 2017 at the age of 92). From 1974 to 1983, he was the CEO of Le Figaro newspaper and served as an advisor to presidents d'Estaing, Mitterrand, Chirac, and Sarkozy. There is a theory that he was a political enemy of Mitterrand, and if that's the case, the casting is in keeping with the spirit of French cinema.

Why did she leave the Elysée Palace and come to Antarctica?