Original subtitles

- [Alice] This is Paris, the capital of gastronomy.

With 115 top-rated restaurants,

a million baguettes devoured each day,

around 20 food magazines,

and 42 varieties of lemon pie.

And.. that's me!

No I'm kidding, I'm right here.

I'm Alice, I'm a culinary advisor

and I believe that everyone can agree on a good thing,

almost like a universal language.

For example, that day,

I didn't have a ticket to enter a culinary festival.

- Hello Miss, ticket please.

- [Alice] But I knew just what to say.

And this is it, I'm in!

Whoa!

- [Announcer] Welcome to Taste of Paris,

the largest gastronomy festival in the world.

Organized by my daddy.

- [Alice] Each year over four days,

top world chefs present their signature dishes,

the new young talent compete for notoriety,

and gourmets from all over the world

discover the latest trends.

Most of all, they come to taste the best culinary products.

I absolutely couldn't miss it.

The festival was truly extraordinary.

But someone was ruining it all.

The announcer with his absurd blabbering.

- Certainly, some could've worn better clothes.

Like I told to you, it wasn't contrite.

We are not here to be cheap, we are here to taste.

Look for a way, I have precedence.

Attention for cumin, no doubt.

- [Alice] He was talking complete nonsense about the dishes.

Excuse me? - Yes?

- I'm surprised Christophe would use cumin on his plate.

- You are part of the festival?

- Uh, no. But I am a culinary advisor and-

- Listen, my dad organized this festival,

so I know what I'm talking about. All right?

Let us continue with-

- [Alice] But what he didn't know,

was that I could easily verify statements.

Thanks to my perfect palate.

Yes, I have the ability to organize every ingredient.

Every flavor of any dish.

And I was right, there was no cumin in this dish.

I wanted to tell him, but he was busy chatting.

So I had a better idea.

Dear Christophe,

the festival retracts the mistake made on your dish.

It's spice was paprika rather than cumin-

The truth was restored.

- Oh, my God.

- [Alice] Well since I had the mic,

I took the liberty to give a few tips.

I was pretty good. The chefs loved me.

They insisted I talked about the dishes. So I said yes.

Swirly, prickly chocolate.

Beef tartar with an herbal flare.

Asparagus with an egg vinaigrette.

Cherry wood smoked salmon.

Obviously, it didn't please everyone.

Whatever. I had a gift for this.

Even if I wasn't very polite,

it was quite fun.

But okay fine, why did you take it like that?

I gave you your microphone back!

- You think that it's just a game.

But gastronomy's too serious for you.

You are just pretentious. Out of my way!

- No way!

Hey! You don't know who you kicked out.

I have a perfect palate!

Finding a place when you're starting out is never easy.

But one day I'm sure, I'll be the queen of gastronomy.

You want some butter?

- No, it's yellow.

- Yes, butter is yellow. So what?

- I just started a new diet. It's called the orange diet.

It's super easy. You can only eat foods which are orange.

For example, well oranges, orange juice, apricots, carrots,

mimolette cheese, jam, and candy but careful! Only orange.

It's recommended for students during exams.

It helps with concentration,

you have less stress, better energy. It's so perfect for me.

- I don't buy it for a second. Where did you get that from?

- From Bim! Magazine.

- But all they say is rubbish in this magazine.

Last time you tried one of their regimes.

It was called chew fluids for a month.

You almost lost your teeth. Don't you remember?

- Yeah, but this time it's not only fluids.

Well, don't worry. I know what I'm doing.

I have to study.

- Well, we'll see.

Meanwhile, on the other end of Paris.

My manager and best friend, Marjorie,

was making her daily press review.

She reads all the magazines.

From Snails Today, to Mold: the cheese magazine,

as well as The Art of Food.

Except that day, she read something she didn't like.

- Hey!

- What happened at the festival?

They're talking about you in The Art of Food.

- Oh, yeah? That's awesome!

- No, they're talking about you in a bad way.

Let me quote a specific part.

"The microphone of the announcer had been stolen

by an angry young woman, who for about three hours

saw fit to spread her culture.

A certain Alice with her perfect palate."

- Yeah. It's not great but I think that-

- You mean it's a catastrophe! You don't realize Alice,

but this magazine is a world reference!

Everyone knows you as the girl who stole the microphone.

And pretty soon, everyone will simply

refer to you as a thief.

- That's not something good.

- No, it's not good!

You know, a bad reputation is like

a wine stain on your favorite silk shirt.

You think it'll go away, but it never goes away!

We need to act. Quickly.

You have to do something great. A feat.

Something that... will restore your image.

I have a good idea. It's pretty simple.

Watch this.

- [Reporter] This is the restaurant, L'Ours.

Right after its opening,

it was awarded a star in the Michelin guide

for its raw and natural cuisine

with the allure of a fairytale painting.

Charolais beef tenderloin matured for thirty days,

blue lobster from Brittany,

or red mullet roasted with green anise.

Behind the kitchen hides the famous chef, Jacky Ribault.

But now, after a burnout, the chef vanished.

His daughter tells us the story.

- He left in the middle of the service, suddenly.

He said he was going to Tibet.

- [Reporter] In his absence, there is no one that

can reproduce the taste of his cuisine.

Not even Patrick, his sous-chef.

- Let me show you. This is my father's last dish.

He always sets one in the freezer for my dinner.

This is Patrick's dish.

It looks the same but it doesn't taste the same at all.

We don't know what's missing.

- [Reporter] Unfortunately, in two days we have the

annual visit of the renowned critic, Sophie Dulac.

- If I can't find the same flavors,

I'll take back their star.

It's like a natural cycle. I give and I take back.

Life and death.

- [Reporter] Unless there is a miracle,

the restaurant is doomed.

- You want me to find the original taste?

- Precisely. You taste the dish of the old chef,

then you taste the dish of the new chef.

You tell them what is missing.

That way, they will not lose their star.

You will go from thief to hero. It's perfect!

- Yeah. You're right. It's time to show my real face.

- Whoa. Elsa? Are you okay?

- Yeah! I'm studying.

- Are you sure?

- Whoo! You look tired. Here take this. It will pump you up!

- Oh. The orange diet or the draining diet?

How many did you eat? Ninety-eight grams of sugar?

Elsa, you gotta stop eating this. It's not good for you.

- No, it's all good!

Since this morning I've finished eight more exams.

I could still run a marathon.

I'm super productive!

- It's called a sugar rush.

And when you come down, it's not pretty.

- Don't worry. I know exactly what I'm doing.

- I gotta go. See you later?

Two hours later...

Miss Ribault, thanks to my perfect palate,

I can find the original taste.

I just have to taste Patrick's plate,

then compare it to your father's,

and tell you the difference.

- It can't be done.

Because I plan to serve my father's dish to Sophie Dulac.

I know it's risky but it's the only chance

to keep the restaurant's star.

- No, it's not the only chance.

You can trust me. I'll help you.

- No. Anyway, we can no longer

get the veggies to make the dish, so-

- Oh, we can go buy some.

- Thanks, but we use a certain type of vegetables.

My dad used to get them from

the King's garden in Versailles.

But since he left, they no longer deliver us.

So you see, there's no point in trying.

- Unless, we bring back the King's vegetables.

- Yes, well, do that. And a, good luck.

Have a good day.

- Bye!

- I think I handled that pretty well.

- And can you tell me what's the plan to get the vegetables?

- I don't know. You're the star, you'll find a way.

- I love my manager, she's so smart.

The next day I was in Versailles.

At the King's vegetable garden.

Here, they still grow the varieties of vegetables

that the King of France ate.

For example, the horn of the ants tomatoes,

Rosa Bianca eggplants,

and cabbage Cantal cabbage.

And me, I was there to buy it all.

- No. I won't sell you my vegetables.

- But why?

- If you want them for the incompetent Patrick, then no.

He can't even distinguish a zucchini from a cucumber.

Shameful. He is not worthy of our vegetables.

- You don't have to sell everything to me. Just a crate.

- No.

- A basket? - No.

- A little basket? - No.

- A salad? - No, no, no, and no!

- A leaf of salad?

Uh, here we go! We're making progress.

- I said no. Leave me alone. I have work to do.

- The gardener was stuck.

But so was I.

Jean? I've made you a little veggie rap to help you think.

* So yeah I want tomatoes, yeah, yeah jalapenos *

* You don't have to ask me where to grow ginger *

* All that I can say is I love pepper *

Jean! Come and drink your lemonade.

Relax a little. Take a load off.

Your Queen would like a dozen leeks and fifteen carrots.

Aren't you hot? I'm hot.

*Boom! Boom! *

* Don't ask me why you prefer pears *

* When you get Adam in tears *

* And there's nothing left but tears *

Jean? I was wondering-

Jean? Why can't you?

Jean? Jean! Jean?

- All right, enough already! I'd like to work in peace.

- Yeah. You just have to sell me the vegetables.

- Do you know anything about mushrooms?

- Of course. Chanterelle, morel mushrooms, coulemelle-

- Okay! Okay! I got it. Okay.

I challenge you to bring me morels.

If you can do it,

then I will know that you're worthy of my vegetables.

- Hmm.

- Careful though! I want real morels.

Not their tasteless cousins. Can you do it?

- Yeah! We have a deal. I'm so happy we agreed.

- This door leads to the castle garden.

You'll find all kinds of mushrooms there, make no mistake.

Be worthy of the King's kitchen garden.

- Morels, one dozen. Consider it done.

- Hmm. We shall see.

49 hectares. She's gonna have a blast. Let me tell ya.

- I'm always up for a walk in a forest.

But after three hours of walking, I couldn't do it anymore.

Then a miracle happened.

Morels!

- Well, well, well. I'm impressed!

How did you know the difference

between real morels and fake ones?

- It's simple. I tasted them.

I found several kinds,

but I knew that real morels had a nutty flavor so,

this one is a real morel.

- What? You ate uncooked morels?

- Sure.

- Well that was stupid. They're poisonous.

- Oh, no! - Oh, yes!

- No! - Oh, yes!

I think we're going to have to call an ambulance.

- Am I going to die?

- I'm kidding. It's nothing serious.

However, you are going to

have a pretty unpleasant afternoon.

Well, here you are for the restaurant

and deliveries will resume next week.

- Thank you!

It wasn't very funny.

Here you go. Vegetables from the King's garden.

- And this is your invoice.

Along with the weekly delivery agreement.

- [Alice] Jean is a very talented professional.

He only works with other talented professionals,

like you and me. We are from the same world.

You can trust me.

- Patrick! Turn the oven on.

We're saved.

- I think that means we're in.

- It's ready.

- Mine's ready, too.

- Alice, it's your turn.

Where is she?

- Alice?

Are you okay, Alice? You look pale. Are you sick?

- No. Everything is fine.

I threw up twice but I feel much better.

It's all gone. I feel good.

- Okay, plan B. We run.

- Don't worry, Marjorie. Let's roll.

Ah, be careful Marjorie the, the carpet's moving.

Watch your step.

- Okay?

- And finally, I would like to thank the one

who's inspired my passion for my profession:

the great chef Joel Robuchon!

It's a small step for gastronomy,

but a great leap in the history of-

- When you're ready, Alice.

- Yes, of course. I will begin.

With Patrick's dish.

It's veal with morels.

- No. I didn't put morels. No, I'm allergic to them, so.

- No way, I can only feel morels!

- Are you sure you're okay?

- Yes, yes, yes! Uh, I said that I can feel the veal.

Uh, it's very tasty, Patrick.

Well done. It's very good dish.

And now the, the plate by Jacky.

But nothing worked. I could only feel morels.

Morels. Morels! Morels!

So I tried some special techniques.

- So have you found the difference?

- Wait! I can do it!

- What is she doing?

- I'm going to find it!

- Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!

I can still serve it to Sofia. Give it to me!

- No, I'm telling you I can do it!

- Give me that plate!

- Trust me!

- No!

- Ugh, I don't feel very good!

- You are a complete mess, Alice!

I never should have trusted you!

- Puking in the kitchen. Can you imagine?

- Gastronomy is too serious for you.

You are just a pretentious girl.

- [Patrick] Hey, Alice! The perfect palate.

- Patrick? What are you doing here?

- I came to congratulate you. Nah, I'm kidding.

- I'm really sorry I sucked. I messed it all up.

The restaurant's going to close and, it's my fault.

- Oh, no, no. It's not your fault.

Truth is that Jacky, he hadn't cooked for weeks.

The dishes you wanted to compare, I cooked them.

Both of them.

- No. No way.

- I wanted Sylvie to not lose hope. It's actually my fault.

I never understood Jacky.

Not him,

or his cuisine.

- I think I know what to do.

Great idea, Patrick!

- If Patrick had never really understood Jacky,

then I was going to do it.

Magazines, interviews, videos, I studied everything.

Perhaps I no longer had my palate, but I still had my head.

- Here at L'Ours I wanted to do something raw, natural.

What interests me is the taste of the product,

respecting the seasonings.

What I like is, simplifying things.

Making a simple cuisine is quite complicated.

I cook like I breathe.

I cook like... well, this is my oxygen, so

cooking should be like that.

- There is only one real cuisine: the good one.

- I buy beautiful products, then I compose.

This morning we got red mullet, we had some lobster,

and we had some smoked eel,

then we put that together and it creates a palette

as if it were for a painter.

Add some butter. I'm Breton, so, semi-salted butter.

We put it in the pan there and we make sure it doesn't burn.

- [Alice] After a long night of research,

I was fully into character.

- [Jacky] Well, that's why I cook,

to stir up emotions so that we remember it-

- [Alice] And naturally,

I knew everything about his cuisine.

- Hi, Alice! Oh, what is all this?

Did you work all night, too?

- No worries. I'm going to tidy up-

- What is it? Do I have something between my teeth?

- No, you look good.

- Yeah, I really feel great! I've been studying all night!

You know, I think this orange diet made me smarter.

Well then, wasn't I right?

- Yeah. - There you go!

I'm going to my exams! Bye, sis!

- Good luck!

You see, Patrick? You have to massage the meat.

Massaging is the most important.

You have to let it sit for 24 hours.

No worries, 12 hours should do it.

Then you must move slowly. You must not rush it.

You don't want the flesh to cook too quickly, you see?

- Get out of my kitchen!

Perhaps I should put up a sign for you. No kitchen allowed!

- I'm really sorry for last time. But I found the taste!

- Are you trying to poison me?

So I can't ruin your reputation. Maybe you should have.

- Just taste it.

- Yeah. Mm-hm.

- [Alice] Your father's secret

can be summed up in two words: time and patience.

First, you sprinkle the veal with a marinade.

Made of broth, salt, and sugar.

He massages it into the flesh.

Then you would fry the veal for only 30 to 40 seconds.

So it was not too cooked in the center.

Then, he moved it to the oven to cook the heart of the meat.

Finally, he flashed it into the broiler at 400 degrees.

Four steps to cook the veal.

Making it fluffy and juicy inside, with a crispy outside.

The rest speaks for itself.

- [Sylvie] Yes, that's it. That's exactly it.

It's my father's flavor. I was wrong about you.

You're not a complete mess. But you're a little mess.

- [Alice] And that's it.

That's how my culinary career took off.

- May I?

- [Alice] Two weeks later..

Marjorie! Marjorie! Marjorie!

So? Did we make the cover or not?

- Yes Alice, you made the cover but I have to tell you-

Alice?

- I made the front page of.. a magazine!

That's really me, on the magazine!

On the new one of the french gastronomy, right?

Are you upset because you're not on the cover?

Do they say in the magazine that I have a perfect palate?

They have to! Are they talking about me?

Did you read the article? Well, who cares?

What matters is my head on the cover.

But look at it!