One doesn’t always think of the kitchen as a place for political intrigue. But Careme understands that there is drama to be had around the oven.
Directed by Martin Bourboulon, Apple TV+’s new series Careme tells the story of the world’s first ‘celebrity chef’, Antonin Careme (Benjamin Voisin). Although he had humble beginnings, he rose quickly to change the culinary scene during the reign of Napoleon. Focused on achieving celebrity status, Careme’s incredible talent draws the attention of others who believe they can use him as a spy for those who dream of revolution. This historical setting is rife with dramatic potential, drawing the attention of the acclaimed director to bring Careme’s story to life.
“Different things excited me, but first of all, I was try thrilled to do a pair of drama on television for the first time,” Bourboulon explains. “It was my first experience for sure, for the television, but also with Apple TV+. They support me a lot and I was also very excited to work on the show with different team that worked well together, politics, food, and love. We all thought that the cocktail was very attractive and very sexy for us to explore as a first experience for this TV show.
Though Careme tells its own story, he isn’t the only cook in the [tv] kitchen right now. From the success of show’s like the Great British Bake-Off to the beloved The Bear, our screens how found the drama in the pantry in recent years. Even so, Bourboulon believes that Careme brings a modern twist to the history of Careme’s story that sets it apart from the rest
“We all have a lot of different TV shows on in our country, for example, Top Chef or a lot of competitions between candidates to make the better dishes. And, as I said, it was very excited for us to work on the show with the kitchen and about the main character as a cook. It was also very exciting for me because I tried to bring a modern vision to Careme’s story. I wanted to avoid the usual per drama style, you know, and maybe wanted to bring to Careme’s character a bit of sexiness, a modern twist, and a bit of rock and roll attitude too.”
And that joy of cooking means more than a great meal. Within the series, Careme points out that ‘food can often be more eloquent than words’, a point that the director believes is key to the character (and the show’s political discourse) as a whole.
“I really like this sentence too, and it’s also the sentence in the trailer because it’s very important for the show and for the character and for the stories that we tell. In France, we all know Bonaparte for sure, but Tallyrand was also very famous, but a little bit less known all over the world. We knew about that. And he often used the kitchen to express politics and diplomatic relationships between all the countries. So, when Careme says that the kitchen is ‘maybe better than some words he writes’, because we know that, in France, we all know that it’s quite very important to be together around the big meal and to have discussions, even very important discussions. Even discussions that we may not agree. If we have a good menu around us, it’s nice to have this kind of conversation.”
Part of the joy of Careme is also the way that it blurs the lines between history and fiction. Although there are moments of drama infused into the series for effect, Bourboulon took the show’s historical roots very seriously. To him, it was essential for the show to get the facts correct about Napoleon’s reign, even if it also managed to play with truth as well.
“When you decide to adapt to novel about historic facts, for the French, you always have to be focused on what was real and you can to do in the fiction,” Bourboulon points out. “So, for this reason, we really wanted to stay in the main road of what the historical fact was real under the Napoleon’s reign. But we also have a little bit of possibility to avoid and to invent some little things to make sure that the characters will be very attractive for the viewer. So, it’s always interesting to discover or rediscover the story of France with this kind of character.”
Much of that ‘rediscovery’ comes in the form of the series’ emphasis on love and relationships. This is a world where sexuality and betrayal are common, leading to political mayhem. But this also begs the question of whether or not these characters know what love truly means. Asked if he believes that love has a dark side, Bourboulon chuckles, arguing that balancing love and sexuality simply how Careme’s character views the world.
“I really think that love exists in the real life,” he laughs. “It’s is not the dark side of the love, but Careme is a lover. He is young man, and he is very attractive for the woman, but also for the men. We were very ex excited to shoot the love relationships as the same as the kitchen scenes. For example,… the desire and the sexuality and… we can take our time to give some pleasure to someone else. It’s exactly the same when Careme is in the kitchen to prepare some dishes and to take times to offer that to the guest. Careme is a lover… but always with a smile and never with a dark side.”
Even though the series is set during the reign of Napoleon, Careme also feels strangely current. Nevertheless, for Bourboulon, what interested him most was the unique blend of sex, food and governments in general, as opposed to any specific political discourse.
“It’s complicated to see some resonance with today, but it’s a reason why I really appreciate to work with Apple TV+ with this show. We all have same goal with this show. It’s to discover or rediscover historical fact with kitchen, and to have to always have the same cocktail with sex, food, and politics, and to enjoy it. It’s also very interesting to see how Careme will follow his main goal [which] is not the same as Bonaparte. This is a cocktail of relationships and we try to do it with a very good visual impact… This is our goal to be attractive also for young audiences.”
Careme is available to stream exclusively on Apple TV+.
