In recent years, you may have followed a hunky onscreen chef, battling chaos to create outstanding food on FX’s “The Bear.” Maybe you also fell for “Bridgerton,” Netflix’s lavish, anachronistic romp through the 19th-century upper classes.
Now “Carême,” a new Apple TV+ show arriving Wednesday, combines the pleasures of both those shows to tell the story of Marie-Antoine Carême, who was perhaps the world’s first celebrity chef. Born into poverty in late-18th century Paris, Carême rose to cook for Napoleon Bonaparte, a Russian czar and a member of the Rothschild banking family, delighting European high society with his intricate, architectural dishes. He is often credited as the founder of French gastronomy — and with popularizing the tall chef hat.
To convey how innovative Câreme was, “our vision was to avoid a usual period drama style,” said Martin Bourboulon, who directed the show’s first three episodes. Although “Carême” is based on a book by Ian Kelly, Bourboulon said he and his colleagues approached the period elements with a “side step,” and added some modern twists to the historical fact.
The costumes, for instance, nod to 20th-century and contemporary fashions, and so they had to be made from scratch rather than rented, as is typical on a production of this scale. The characters speak modern French, and Benjamin Voisin plays Carême as a tousle-headed, opium-taking charmer, with the rebellious attitude of Mick Jagger and Lenny Kravitz.
It’s unsurprising, therefore, that it can seem as if almost as many of Carême’s scenes are set in the bedroom as in the kitchen — and some of those kitchen scenes are still quite sexy. “I found similarities between the sex scenes and the food scenes,” Bourboulon said, especially when it came to the care Carême takes giving pleasure in both contexts.
The crossover between food and sensuality — two quintessentially French concerns — has been well explored onscreen, including in films like Lasse Hallström’s “Chocolat” and Tran Anh Hung’s recent “The Taste of Things.” But unlike those movies, “Câreme” also has a political dimension, exploring how food became a diplomatic tool at a pivotal period in French history.
When the show opens in 1800, Napoleon (Frank Molinaro) has installed himself in the Tuileries Palace, consolidating his political power after military victories. But the years after the French Revolution did not mean freedom for all, and while underlings like the conniving statesman Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (Jérémie Renier) jockey for status, Carême’s father is arrested after Carême refuses a position cooking for Napoleon.
In exchange for a promise to help his father, Carême finds himself cooking for foreign diplomats to advance men like Talleyrand’s ambitions; one such dish is a flammable dessert pyramid served for the British ambassador as a symbol of reconciliation between France and Britain, who were fighting for dominance in Egypt.
The culinary stakes are high and the show’s pace is rapid. Bourboulon said that the cooking scenes that inspired him most were from the long-running reality TV competition show “Top Chef.”
Voisin said that he recognized Carême’s single-minded pursuit of his craft from his own determination to act — though before taking on the role, he was less familiar with cooking. To prepare, Voisin spent time learning from chefs at the prestigious Ferrandi culinary school in Paris. Ultimately, he said, he saw the show as a coming-of-age story in which Carême’s morals are tested as he grows up.
One such test comes when Talleyrand asks Câreme to become a spy, and Carême uses both his culinary and seduction skills to gain access to the private quarters of Joséphine (Maud Wyler), Napoléon’s partner. His most stalwart lover, though, is Henriette (Lyna Khoudri), a lady-in-waiting involved in espionage schemes of her own. Henriette is a modern, determined woman, and Khoudri said that was reflected in her not wearing a conventional corset, but instead outfits that allowed her to move with more ease.
Voisin and Khoudri said that “Carême” — which was shot on location in Paris over eight months — was a huge opportunity for them as young French actors because of the scale and global distribution of an American streaming giant like Apple TV+. “Carême” shows that a French team “can pull it off, given the resources,” Khoudri said. The actress also starred in Bourboulon’s recent “Three Musketeers” movies, which similarly showed that France could also export commercially successful blockbusters.
With its preoccupation with sex, politics and food, “Câreme” is another quintessentially French global export. And that’s fine by its director. Bourboulon said with satisfaction: “We love to seem like this in France.”
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