The film was based on a true story documenting Danièle Mazet-Delpeuch, renamed Hortense Laborie in film, being appointed as the first private female chef of President of France in the 1990s, notable for her authentic grandmotherly cooking well-liked by the President. Through the film, there were no profound messages but touches on different aspects from authenticity to nostalgia to gender issues to the dominance of France cuisine in the Élysée Palace’s kitchen.

This film focuses primarily on the preparations of traditional French cuisine through reciting recipes in cookbooks, careful selection of fresh produces with distributors personally, critical taste and presentation evaluation through trial and errors, to plating and serving were all important factors that contribute to making this a ‘foodie film’.

Hortense was presented as the only female in the Palace kitchen, which sparked an interest in highlighting issues of gender roles in the commercial kitchen. In the male dominating Palace kitchen, they were unwelcoming, disrespectful and jealous towards Hortense because it is widely believed that women, who are supposedly more domesticated, should only stay in the kitchen of their homes. Although Hortense managed to quickly establishes herself due to her dauntless spirit and focus on her undertaking, she left the kitchen after two years of political pressure and discrimination.

There was also a strong emphasis on introducing and promoting her regional dish, truffle, wherever Hortense goes, be it in the Palace or later on in Antarctica at a small research base; it suggests a strong sense of culinary and regional identity and respect for her local produce which are efforts in allowing truffle to be widely celebrated in today’s era.

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