If Philip Barantini’s film “Boiling Point” was a great success, this sequel, called “The Chef” and available in four episodes to watch on Canal+ since November 14, is a real disaster. From the insignificant dramatic stakes to the clichéd characters to the lackluster staging, nothing works.
A frenetic sequence shot, with a hysterical camera that flies above the stoves, hovers between the sinks and the serving hatch in a roar of thunder, opens the first episode of this culinary series. Nausea guaranteed!
All this to convey to the viewer the stress that reigns during a gunshot in the kitchen, a feverish and excited atmosphere which contrasts with the cozy room of this restaurant where the customers delight with refined dishes in a relaxed atmosphere.
Loin de “The Bear”
In one shot, which doesn’t even take the time to enhance the dishes which should nevertheless be the stars of the series, the mass is said! “The Bear”, American master standard in this field, has been there and “The Chef” will only be a poor British imitation.
The impression is confirmed from the first episode which gets bogged down in a very heavy mash of pathos when Carly, a chef under pressure, throws off her apron to come to the aid of her mother, who may be dying. Nay! While her brigade is struggling without her, while investors are impatient to meet her, Carly comes back at a gallop because she is confident, she who sacrificed everything, love and friendships, to make her Point North profitable.
External content
This external content cannot be displayed because it may collect personal data. To view this content you must authorize the category Social networks.
Accept More info
Carly in charge
Of course, “The Chef” will undoubtedly delight fans of the film “Boiling Point”, who will find familiar faces, starting with that of Vinette Robinson, known as Carly. Now in charge of her own business after the Bérézina of her mentor, the crazy Andy Jones, who became an alcoholic, she manages many of her ex-boss’s ex-teammates. But in addition to fighting for the survival of her restaurant, she knows how to listen to her staff.
So, between the suicidal young pastry chef who scars himself, a good Samaritan with alcoholics anonymous who could relapse, a cooking manager with a heavy sense of humor who tires his people and his second on the nerves, Carly must manage a poor newcomer. clerk that she will nevertheless keep, because she wears her heart on her sleeve. In reality, he would have gone back to unemployment! Not there. A paradox for a series which aims to transcribe as accurately as possible the difficulties faced by chefs.
>> >> Listen to the nuanced debate by Philippe Congiusti and Noémie Desarzens around the series “The Chef”::
As indigestible as a stale mille-feuille
Constructed like a stale mille-feuille with lumpy pastry cream, the montage alternates between stress in the kitchen, complicated service and moments of life outside the restaurant to show the sensitive humans behind the robots which move mechanically in the kitchen or in the dining room . Except that empathy for these rough-hewn characters never works. Worse, the dramatic arc is boring and the uninspired staging will finish off even the least demanding series fans, as each episode is based on an always identical framework and is presented in a copy-and-paste manner.
Philippe Congiusti/mh
“The Chef” by Philip Barantini, with Stephen Graham, Vinette Robinson, Alice Feetham. Mini-series of four episodes to watch on Canal+ since November 14, 2024.
Related News :