Les Saveurs du Palais (Christian Vincent, 2012)

A comically tinged dramatisation of the story of Danièle Mazet-Delpeuch, the first woman to serve as the French President's personal chef at the Élysée Palace, Haute Cuisine is a fairly self-explanatory confection of basic ingredients, which comprise arcane bureaucracy and formalities, the deeply ingrained chauvinism of the environment and a feisty heroine set on upsetting the status quo. It's whipped up to something more than the sum of its parts by Catherine Frot's no-nonsense take on the character, while having to ride scenes of gastroporn of ludicrous degrees that make Babette's Feast seem homely fare. All in all, a witty and frothy amuse-bouche, but no full meal.

5/10