Haute Cuisine – an exploration of traditional French cooking

Watching Haute Cuisine, I was taken back to my days in France, marked by a nationally shared passion for their esteemed cuisine. The film highlighted this passion and focused not on the mass-produced or modern, Michelin star menus, but rather on the intimate love of cooking traditional dishes. Haute Cuisine focused on the concept of authenticity and reminded me of the writings of Guy Grossi, where he introduced food as a connection to family and tradition, much like the experiences of Hortense and her simple, homestyle recipes, much loved by the president due to the memories they evoked. Similarly, there is an emphasis on the appreciation of regional identity, with Hortense expanding her menu to specific regional produce, exclaiming “I like food to come from somewhere”; a sentiment shared by the likes of many French chefs and writers, including the famous Pampille. This was undoubtedly a foodie film, with a narrative that explores themes of tradition and regional identity in a way that is unparalleled with anything other than food, that is, food being wholly central to the plot. The concepts of gender and class are also explored, with Hortense being the first female chef for the president and therefore experiencing sexism and sexualisation not experienced by the male chefs, as well as a change away from the aristocratic cuisine to that of a simpler style. Additionally, with the theme of my blog being the migration of food, I found the story of cooking in Antarctica an interesting one that highlighted the reach and power of French cuisine. Although many kilometres away from home, Hortense still incorporates local French recipes and produce, and this minimal but important narrative truly encapsulates the culinary nationalism that defines France.