When Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros was first announced in 2022, it was called A Family Business, a title that perhaps contained a double meaning, alluding to both the Troisgros family’s restaurant, La Maison Troisgros, and the dynamic between the patriarch and his two sons. The documentary takes place in a Michelin three-star restaurant in southern France and focuses on how the chefs create elaborate dishes for their demanding clients. Director Frederick Wiseman follows the entire preparation, from the work of the kitchen staff to the intricacies of obtaining ingredients, slicing, storing, washing up, etc. At four hours, it’s a fascinating film on the inner workings of a restaurant that encourages audiences to think not only about the end product placed on the dinner table but the continuous evolution of how dishes are put together over a span of decades.
Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros is Wiseman’s 44th documentary. Since the 1960s, his works have been characterized by his constant curiosity and observation. But Menus-Plaisirs is unique when compared to the director’s recent films in that instead of exploring the complex bureaucracies that define cultural institutions, whether it be the diverse neighborhood of Jackson Heights in the New York City borough of Queens or a correctional facility in Massachusetts, it’s mostly interested in its central subject. Wiseman captures the tireless work of the chefs, the purchasing of vegetables from local merchants, the farmers who raise the livestock and the meticulous deliberation involved in creating a menu.
Because there is no voiceover to explain to the audience what they should take away from each scene, the material presented could be interpreted in several different ways. Wiseman’s camera and editing may suggest a strain between the chefs and the restaurant’s clients, owing to the tremendous amount of effort exerted on each dish that usually goes unnoticed by the often-pretentious, wealthy customers. We see diners making a show of smelling their wine and the head chef, Michel Troisgros, having to humor them with stories that he probably tells every night. It’s difficult not to conclude that Michel’s obsessions over the presentation of a desert or the correct time to drain blood from an animal brain are wasted.
But what matters is that the creators respect their craft. They all understand that to make something worthwhile, time is needed. Cheese needs to age, and the grass that cows eat has to grow. Unlike the many shows on Food Network or internet advertisements that attempt to seduce consumers with a pretty presentation, there is little appreciation of the final product here. Instead, the beauty lies in all the labor that came before the final plating. We witness Michel constantly trying to improve, asking his chefs questions right up to when the dish is served, and early on, we see him deciding with one of his sons whether or almonds should be included in his new recipe. It’s tempting to see a connection to Wiseman’s own patient, painstaking methods, but the director, as always, lets you draw that conclusion for yourself.
The phrase “menus plaisirs” translates to “small pleasures.” In addition to evoking the artistic processes of the chefs, the term could also apply to Wiseman’s creative method. As a director in his 90s, this could be considered a film made solely for his own delight. There are links between the intense work that goes into both fine dining and filmmaking, delicate, behind-the-scenes labor that often goes unappreciated by paying customers. But in the same statement, Wiseman seems to say that these quibbles are finally unimportant: The work itself is what matters.
Photo courtesy of Zipporah Films
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