Delicieux
Delicious
released 2021
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“Delicieux / Delicious” is a French, historical fiction, comedy film produced by Philip Boeffard, Patrick Quinet and Christophe Rossignon and directed by Nicolas Boukhrief and Eric Besnard who also wrote the screenplay. It stars Gregory Gadebois, Isabelle Carre, Benjamin Lavernhe, Guillaume de Tonqedec, Christian Bouillette, Lorenzo Lefebvre, Marie-Julie Baup, Laurent Bateau, Manon Combes, Felix Fournier, Christophe Rossignon, Francois De Brauer, Jeremy Lopez, Antoine Gouy, Benjamin Lhommas, Chloe Astor and many more.

Delicieux IMDb webpage

“Delicieux” is set around the time of the French Revolution in 1789 when the country of France and Europe was going through big socio-political changes. The everyday people were hungry and overtaxed and things were about to get violent in France. The protagonist is a talented cook named Pierre Manceron, played by Gregory Gadebois, who works for an incredibly arrogant and self entitled noble named Le duc de Chamfort, played by Benjamin Lavernhe. It is worth mentioning what a good job Benjamin Lavernhe does playing an arrogant noble.

Pierre Manceron’s life is turned upside down when he is fired for serving a dish which contained potatoes to the table of the duc de Chamfort during a lunch party with people from Paris. The bishop, played by Gilles Privat, says something to the effect that “The upper classes should not eat anything from the ground. It’s for pigs.” As he throws the food on the floor. Another attendee states that one could catch Tuberculosis from the far away Germans by eating food from the ground like they do. The insults and ignorance just keep getting tossed at Pierre as the duc de Chamfort insults him and humiliates him in front of everyone and demands an apology. The Cook refuses to give one and is so fired. It’s important to state that the duc de Chamfort was trying to impress the crowd from Paris because that is what you did back then to receive favors, titles and wealth from the King. So when the Bishop was insulted the duc de Chamfort was furious. The Cook’s attempt was an abysmal failure which turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

“Delicieux” is a simple film that educates us a little about the times and how restaurants began. Before the French Revolution only the King and aristocracy ate good, well made food and after so many skilled cooks were let go or had no bosses to work for anymore some used their skills feeding the everyday person. The same is true of the people who made fine clothes and all the articles of everyday life used in the castles and estates of the wealthy like clocks, dishes etc. It’s like a dam of talented people broke and flooded society creating new industries and cultivating larger customer bases. So, someone opening a restaurant on a busy road would feed many dozen people a day instead of just one noble family and their banquets. Those were the changing times of The French revolution.

One thing I like about comedic, historical fiction stories is how silly some of the beliefs of the dominant classes are and French movies often show this so well. For example, some of the comments at the banquet when the Cook served potatoes was just hilarious. Not eating anything from the ground because it’s food for pigs and catching tuberculosis because from people far, far away from eating potatoes is beyond stupid.

I also liked the aged, level-headedness from Pierre. He had a good eye for BS and working in the duc de Chamfort’s castle taught him how to be quiet and observant. Like how he saw his apprentice Louise, played by Isabelle Carre, deal with people, notably his son. He noticed she was not afraid to talk to men and that made him suspicious. He figured her for a prostitute or a noblewoman and he was right. As it turns out, Louise is the widow of a noble who was forced into suicide by the duc de Chamfort and she is seeking revenge. She also has a very good business sense and is a fast learner and it is the realization of those skills that keep her from carrying out murderous revenge. She ends up destroying the duc de Chamfort the way he destroyed her husband, if an angry mob and the guillotine does not get him first.

This movie is a fun watch and, in my opinion, could be made into a mini-series because there is so much to say about that time in French history. So, check out “Delicieux” and enjoy it.

John Ink2Quill

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