★★★★★ OUT 14 FEBRUARY CINEMAS
Between the shouty sandwich-slinging of The Bear and the haute-cuisine horror of The Menu, recent foodie dramas have really cranked up the sizzle. But this tender and exquisite period piece favours a more quietly intense approach, dropping you right into the creation of an incredible gourmet meal for its first, gloriously uninterrupted 38 minutes.
It’s 1885; Juliette Binoche’s gentle Eugénie has been cooking for wealthy gourmand Dodin (a lip-smacking Benoît Magimel) for two decades. The camera weaves closely around her braising, sauce-skimming excellence as if she were a painter serving up works of art. But when she refuses Dodin’s marriage proposal, he sets out to woo her by cooking an elaborate meal he hopes will capture her taste buds and her heart.