Beautifully shot and gloriously entertaining, Carême is a fast-paced, lavish, decadent Apple TV+ offering that should be at the top of the menu. Carême is now streaming on Apple TV+ with new episodes every Wednesday.
France was a divided country, plagued by internal conflicts and political treachery, which haunted its future following the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon. France may have decided to dispatch its royal family in the name of liberty, but the plan wasn’t to end up with an emperor after they executed King Louis XVI. From 1793 to the early 1800s, France was a country simmering on a hot plate with no off switch, caught between the past, present and an uncertain future.
During this period of turmoil, France would bring us the first-ever celebrity chef, Marie-Antoine Carême, a young man who rose from humble beginnings to become a legend who would open the door to chefs like Jules Gouffé, Urbain Dubois and later Auguste Escoffier. Yet this ground-breaking chef, known as the ‘King of Chefs and the Chef of Kings’, is rarely mentioned outside the culinary world, let alone celebrated, until now.
The Apple TV+ drama based on Marie-Antoine Carême’s life and created by Ian Kelly and lead writer Davide Serino, takes more than a few liberties with the truth; one could say it adds garnish as it envisions Carême as an alluring rock star chef who finds himself an unwitting spy and political pawn in a French society caught between the pomp and ceremony of past royalty and the uncertainty of a new Republic. But even if the historical detail is lacking, like an exquisitely delicate and layered mille-feuille, Carême is not only tantalising to look at, but also moreish and decadent from the first bite to the last.
As the series opens, Carême (played by the enchanting Benjamin Voisin) is a young and talented pastry chef working in a celebrated patisserie alongside his adoptive father, Bailly. However, it is not long before Carême’s life takes an abrupt detour when he attracts the interest of Bonaparte (Frank Molinaro) due to his knowledge of natural herbal remedies. Carême is no fan of the First Consul and initially turns down an offer to join Napoleon’s staff. But when his adoptive father is arrested for treason, his arm is forcibly twisted.
Carême quickly finds himself thrown headfirst into a new kitchen led by a young, talented sous-chef, Agathe (Alice Da Luz), and into a world of intrigue and power plays in the new, unstable republic. His kitchen is a shield, and his looks are a gift, as Marie-Antoine finds himself caught between the manipulative diplomat Charles Talleyrand (Jérémie Renier), the powerful Bonaparte, and the chief interrogator and police enforcer Fouché, as deadly games are played behind closed doors.
Of course, Carême has his own mission: to ensure the safety of his adoptive father and his eventual release. But in an unstable world of treachery, lust, back-stabbing, delicate pastries, and lavish cakes, missions change, and life inside and outside of the kitchen becomes a dangerous affair.
However, as with so many Apple TV+ dramas, it has suffered from a lack of marketing, which may see it relegated to a mere side dish in a crowded streaming buffet, a pity because this is a show to savour. From Benjamin Voisin’s energetic, dramatic, and cheeky Marie-Antoine to Jérémie Renier’s conniving diplomat and Alice Da Luz’s caring, visionary, and ever-so-slightly love-torn Agathe, Carême is a delight that grows tastier with each episode.
Highlights include a powerful, dramatic exploration of a diminished royal family in exile in episode four and an early-1800s version of MasterChef: The Professionals in episode five. But there’s so much to love in this exquisitely crafted TV drama that I can only hope Carême finds the audience it so richly deserves, and we are eventually served up seconds.
Follow Us