” Chief ! “ The word resonates, punctuates each sentence in a military tone. He responds to the echo of the pots jingling in the kitchens of the Ferrandi school in Paris. There, dozens of young crazy people are busy in an organized frenzy. They slice, mince, whip under the demanding gaze of the owner. And yet, many apprentices or chefs confide that this vocation to wear the apron and to play with the knife was not born near the stove, but in front of the screens, big or small.
The visually appealing world of cooking and gastronomy inspired French television very early on. As early as 1954, Raymond Oliver presented “Les Recettes du chef”, paving the way for culinary entertainment. In the following decades, the genre continues to evolve, until the creation of fictions with the kitchen as a backdrop.
Between 2009 and 2011, TF1 offers three seasons of Crazy. In 2015, France 2 in turn began a culinary series: Chiefs (two seasons, 14 episodes). But it is other types of programs that inspire the future prodigies of cooking pianos: magazines or documentary series, immersions in the daily life of the great chefs and their “brigades”.
This June day, Adeline Grattard, chef of the starred restaurant Yam’Tcha, in Paris, formerly of the Ferrandi school, returns to her alma mater to pass on some of her talent. Agathe Pech, 20, a third year bachelor student, observes the Eurasian-inspired cook, with an impression of déjà vu. “Adeline Grattard, I discovered her through the series Chef’s Table, on Netflix, recognizes the young woman. How she manages her kitchen, looks for her suppliers, selects her teas, discovers new products… She made me dream. “
“An environment unknown to the public”
When, in 2015, the American director of this documentary series, David Gelb, privatized rue Saint-Honoré, in Paris, to shoot at Yam’Tcha, he was not at his first attempt. A first season invites you to take a tour of the world of gastronomy in six episodes, from Modena, in Italy, to Järpen, in Sweden, via New York and Buenos Aires. “All the young chefs watched these broadcasts in bursts, says Adeline Grattard. He managed to lift the veil on an environment unknown to the public, to push doors never opened to cameras, those of the kitchens. A revolution. “
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