America’s legendary observational documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman is back with his immersive four-hour film Menus-Plaisirs-Le Troisgros at NYFF61. This Spotlight presentation at the New York Film Festival goes from the back of the house to the front and beyond to reveal the inner workings of the most influential gastronomic empire of our time.
The Troigros family, has dominated the French culinary scene for nearly a century. It is best known for the pioneering work of Pierre Troigros. He created the concept of nouvelle cuisine which revolutionized the concept of French cooking in the mid to late twentieth century. It was controversial because of its stark departure from the Cordon Bleu tradition and its emphasis on heavy meats and sauces. Minimalist in its approach, nouvelle cuisine upended the very fundamentals of French cooking.
His son, Michel, who now runs the family business, has taken it a step further, incorporating ingredients and concepts he learned during his travels in Japan. The aromatic Japanese herb Shiso is a recurring element in many of his dishes. That, along with other savories, such as cumin, saffron and peppers grown on the property, make regular appearances as part of the main ingredients or supporting cast of the restaurant’s elaborate multi-course tasting menus, which can cost upwards of a thousand dollars.
Eldest son Cesar is regularly urging his father to further update his menu creations. It is an effort that sometimes leads to tensions between the two, as evidenced in several scenes in the film.
The Troigros empire grew from humble beginnings. Le Central is the original restaurant located in a rented family house near a train station in rural France. Its latest incarnation is an architecturally stunning building in the Loire Valley that has the look and feel of a culinary cathedral. Named Le Bois Sans Feuilles, the name translates loosely as “The Forest Without Leaves.”
Chef Michel gives a couple who are about to dine a behind the scenes tour of his pride and joy, the kitchen. He describes the layout with the precision of an architect.
“The kitchen is wonderful. It’s not only well lit, it’s also very clear, very open. There’s nothing to get in the way. No apparatus, no extractor hoods. It has an extractor ceiling, which opens up the space. There are also no shelves. No dividers. No nooks and crannies. All the work surfaces are the same height, with no lamps hovering over them to get in the way. It’s very clear, just a simple rectangle like a little tennis court. “
In all practicality, the kitchen is more like a scientific laboratory or a surgical suite, with all of the staff dressed in white uniforms working in hushed concentration at their respective stations. They work independently, yet in concert.
Their movements, as captured by director of photography James Bishop, are swift and deliberate. Chefs maneuver silently around each other like dancers in a well-choreographed ballet.
The elder Troisgros likens his son’s role as kitchen master to that of the conductor of an orchestra. “My son Cesar can manage it without raising his voice. He can do it it with a look or a gesture.”
We also see the senior Troigros take one his young assistant chefs to school on the proper way to prepare calves’ brains. He reads to him from the pages of Escoffier as if quoting scripture from the Bible.
A tasting session with his son and head chef Cesar briefly becomes a contest of wills. The senior Troigros critiques a new kidney dish headed for that evening’s dinner menu. “I already feel like it’s missing an element.” he declares between tentative bites. “The clients don’t usually take as much as you do,” Cesar counters. The father takes another bite. “You can really taste it. The reduction is a little spicy.
“A bit too much sriracha. I don’t know if that works. It’s too spicy. Eating a whole plate, for me, my mouth is too hot.” Thus, the fate of the new kidney dish Is sealed.
Triogros’ restaurants have maintained three Michelin stars for 55 years. A film on such a storied history can only scratch the surface, even at four hours in length.
Wiseman approached the daunting task of encapsulating the depth and breadth of that history with an unvarnished, straightforward approach. “I tried to work out a structure for the film that was comprehensible,” Wiseman explained in a post-screening discussion. “The film starts at the market because you can’t cook or serve the food until you have it in hand.
“My job as editor (which took ten months) is to work in a way that allows people to understand the inner workings of the restaurant and how they do it. I tried to make the structure comprehensible because otherwise, its chaos!”
Director of photography James Bishop’s probing lens gives viewers a seat at the master chef’s elbow as he meticulously works out the menu items for the day and explains them to his eager guests.
The camera moves in closely as chefs meticulously prepare each dish for the presentation at table. The film also ventures to the farms, stables, cheese factories and wine cellars where the various elements of the day’s meals are produced. “I not only wanted to show how the restaurant functions from the kitchen in the back of the house, but to also take the viewer outside to the various elements that support it.”
A scenes showing chefs involved in the delicate handiwork involved in artfully plating a dish with the use of tweezers, makes for a mesmerizing experience.
Menus-Plaisirs-Les Troigros is an engrossing portrait of the art of both a master chef and a master filmmaker. The film honors a lifetime of craftsmanship by both the subject, Chef Michel Troigros, and filmmaker Frederick Wiseman. For more, including a discussion on integrity in filmmaking involving the director, visit filmlinc.org.
