Film Review

The Taste of Things (2023) — a filmic feast of food and romance

The story of Eugenie, an esteemed cook, and Dodin, the fine gourmet who she has been working for over the last 20 years.

A richly detailed, sumptuous heartbreaker for lovers of Babette’s Feast (1987) and Chocolat (2000) celebrates life’s greatest pleasures and mourns their passing. I’ve never cried over a meal, but The Taste of Things / La Passion de Dodin Bouffant, a new French historical romance, makes me wonder if something might be wrong with me.

This lovely culinary drama opens with scenes of household gardeners in a rural setting, harvesting vegetables from a small but bountiful garden. Their labours are bathed in the warm hues of an autumn afternoon, creating a scene that evokes a world where it’s always summer.

We follow the harvesters into a grand French household kitchen, where Dodin Bouffant (Benoît Magimel), a stuffy-looking French bourgeois, patiently instructs young Pauline (Bonnie Chagneau-Ravoire) not on how to cook but on how to taste the food that she will one day prepare…