The Taste of Things (La Passion de Dodin Bouffant)

Hello, Violette.

- Hello, sir. - Where's Eugénie?

She's in the garden. She's picking vegetables with Louis.

Is my bath ready?

Just one more pot of hot water.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Violette.

Thank you.

Mm.

Eugénie, it's delicious.

Who are you, young lady?

This is Pauline, my niece. I'm looking after her today.

Have a seat, then.

Thank you, sir.

I advise you to eat it with a spoon. It makes all the difference.

Violette, if you're done, can you come here?

- I'm done. - You can take over. Thank you.

The loin of veal, please.

All right.

Thank you.

When you're done, you can get the crayfish.

The water's boiling.

Look, we'll add the fish.

Want to help me?

That's good.

Go on.

Put that over there.

I'll prepare the quenelles.

Can I have the cream?

Thank you.

It's time to take out the veal, please.

The vegetables, Violette.

Thank you.

The rooster comb.

Violette, please strain the butter.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

Pauline, come here.

Smell this.

- Smell good? - Yes.

Taste it.

Remember the taste.

You'll compare once it's been clarified.

You recognise this sauce?

No.

Can you name the ingredients?

Short ribs.

Smoked bacon.

Red bell peppers.

Mushrooms.

Fennel.

Tomatoes.

Oranges.

Wine.

Yes, flamed.

Parsley. Thyme.

Bay leaf.

Cumin.

Juniper berry.

Clove.

Carry on.

That's all, I think.

There's also paprika and cognac.

And to soften the wine's acidity, we add currant jelly.

There you go.

A Bourguignotte sauce.

Bravo.

Astonishing girl.

Yes.

Here, Violette.

The wine, please.

Careful.

You dip the ladle.

Then you drizzle...

...the stock over the egg white...

...to filter the scum.

That's how you obtain a nice, clear broth.

Go ahead.

Taste.

Is it different, now that it's clarified?

Yes. It's not as strong.

What you lose in taste you gain in colour.

Before, the flavour was stronger and coarser.

Now it's more subtle.

I say we should wait a while longer for him.

After all, Rabaz did a good deed today

by helping a young mother give birth.

- What do you say, Magot? - Mm.

And you, Beaubois?

I agree with you, Grimaud.

Man is the only animal that drinks without thirst.

Wine is the intellectual side of a meal.

Meat and vegetables, the material side.

Worse than hunger is not knowing when you'll eat.

Here's Rabaz.

Excuse me, dear friends, I had to go home and change.

A lovely little girl was born today.

We could barely resist tasting the consommé.

After her big effort, the newborn greedily threw herself

at her mother's breast for her first meal.

It whet my appetite.

This consommé is so gentle.

Here.

Oh.

What perfect expression.

Puligny-Montrachet, my friend.

Thank you.

Are you unwell, Eugénie?

I... I'm fine, I...

I'll be fine.

We owe Antonin Carême the vol-au-vent.

They say he invented it by snatching a botched puff pastry from the oven.

Do you believe that story?

We're not historians.

But we like a good story, even if untrue.

What an extraordinary fate.

The child was abandoned on the street at age eight.

Since his death, kings have been dethroned,

but Carême, the genius king of gastronomy,

still stands.

No rival's glory has cast a shadow over his.

When I think of Carême, I see a frail child carrying a bundle,

abandoned in Paris at the height of the Revolution.

Weeping, he hears his father tell him

not to come home, for there's not enough food

for him and his 14 siblings.

It's incredible, he never saw his family again,

even though he never left Paris after that.

Wait, do it slowly.

I'll start over.

Was the vol-au-vent good?

- It's the best thing I ever ate. - Ah.

Finish your food.

Mm.

Mm.

Mm.

Do you like it?

Yes.

The fish flesh is very gentle.

Hm.

Clos-Vougeot!

Well done, Rabaz.

Excellent.

Good old Rabaz.

Mm.

God created water, but man created wine.

Mm! It's fabulous.

I have a nice story about Clos-Vougeot for you.

In 1364, Pope Urban V

wanted to leave Avignon and return to Rome with his Court.

And... Oh, my God.

I agree, Grimaud, all conversation must cease

when a truffled turkey appears.

But this is merely veal loin with braised lettuce.

Very well. Petrarch tells us that the cardinals

had no desire to leave Avignon.

They imagined a wretched life far from their Burgundy wines.

Resistance was so great

the pope threatened to excommunicate the Abbot of Cîteaux Abbey,

Jean de Bussières,

should he not cease to supply Avignon with Clos-Vougeot.

Upon the death of Urban V,

his successor, Pope Gregory XI,

immediately annulled the threat of excommunication

so that his court might enjoy Clos-Vougeot again.

Mmm.

Violette.

Here.

Always impressive.

Magnificent.

There's ice cream inside.

It's a miracle.

No, not a miracle,

merely a scientific reaction.

Beaten egg whites make an excellent insulator.

- Truly? - The ice cream remains frozen.

Really? I didn't know that.

An American physicist discovered this phenomenon,

which gave Balzac the idea to create the dessert.

I see.

Balzac, the head chef at the Grand Hotel.

- Oh, yes. - He's the one who created...

- Absolutely. - What's it called again?

Baked Alaska.

OK.

So, in the end, it's a scientific dessert.

Sort of.

What's it called?

Baked Alaska.

Why Alaska?

I don't know.

Eugénie!

Eugénie!

Thank you.

- It was utterly exquisite. - Thank you.

We miss you in the dining room.

Yes, why don't you ever eat with us?

Dodin, can't you do something to make Eugénie join us?

That's up to Eugénie.