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Bartolomeo Scappi (c. 1500-1577) was arguably the most famous chef of the Italian Renaissance. As head chef for popes and cardinals throughout the middle decades of the sixteenth century, he prepared unashamedly decadent banquets for the most powerful men on earth. At the culmination of his prolific career he compiled the largest cookery treatise of the period to instruct an apprentice on the full craft of fine cuisine, its methods, ingredients, and recipes. Chef Antonio Carluccio goes to his beloved Italy with a Renaissance cookbook for a guide. He follows the trail of its author to discover more about a man who had an extraordinary career cooking for the cardinals, emperors and popes of the sixteenth century. Antonio resurrects 500 year old recipes, cooking eel in Venice, porcini mushrooms in Lombardy, and stuffing a suckling pig in Rome. He ends his journey with a banquet fit for a pope. Lush scenery and mouth-watering ingredients create a visually stunning feast.
Director
Status
Released
Original Language
EN

In 1671, with war brewing with Holland, a penniless prince invites Louis XIV to three days of festivities at a chateau in Chantilly. The prince wants a commission as a general, so the extravagances are to impress the king. In charge of all is the steward, Vatel, a man of honor, talent, and low birth. The prince is craven in his longing for stature: no task is too menial or dishonorable for him to give Vatel. While Vatel tries to sustain dignity, he finds himself attracted to Anne de Montausier, the king's newest mistress. In Vatel, she finds someone who's authentic, living out his principles within the casual cruelties of court politics. Can the two of them escape unscathed?

Master chef Kate Armstrong runs her life and her kitchen with intimidating intensity. However, a recipe for disaster may be in the works when she becomes the guardian of her young niece while crossing forks with the brash sous-chef who just joined her staff. Though romance blooms in the face of rivalry, Kate needs to look outside the kitchen to find true happiness.