Review: Menus-Plaisirs -- Les Troisgros

Michel (left) discusses a dish tasting with son Cesar (right) 

In February 2019 chef Michel Troisgros came to Hong Kong to cook at Epure restaurant in Harbour City. He brought his younger son Leo, who at the time together with his brother Cesar looked after their restaurant, Le Bois Sans Feuilles (The Forest without Leaves) in Ouches, in Loire, France.

The family is famous, with four generations of chefs starting with Jean-Baptiste Troisgros in 1930 in Roanne, and in 2017 his grandson Michel moved the restaurant to the countryside in Ouches where they also have a boutique hotel on the property.

The restaurant, which has changed names several times, received its first Michelin star in 1956, and has three stars every year since 1968. This is quite the feat for any restaurant, let alone a family.

Michel and Leo (left) in Hong Kong in 2019

Michel and Leo cooked a delightful lunch for Hong Kong media, and we marvelled at how simple the dishes looked, but were full of flavour and elegance. 

So when the documentary Menus-Plaisirs -- Les Troisgros came out, I had to watch it -- even though it was four hours long!

Director Frederick Wiseman has created a gem of a film, capturing the sights and sounds (though sadly not the smells) of how this three Michelin-starred restaurant runs. There is no narration or captions to explain anything -- we are a fly on the wall and get translated subtitles.

Structurally the documentary starts off with buying ingredients in the market and receiving goods from suppliers. The chefs take them into the kitchen and break them down, from ribs and filleting turbot, to tempering chocolate and preparing the numerous garnishes that need to be used while plating dishes.

Michel goes over the menus with his sons. Cesar looks after Le Bois Sans Feuilles, while Leo has moved to La Colline du Colombier, a more casual place. 

From there we watch the wait staff get a quick rundown of the menu and the guests with their preferences, while it is interesting to see the restaurant wants to address any kind of harassment of any staff working there, though nothing more is reported.

Cooking crayfish before shelling them

But it looks like everything is moving smoothly, the dishes are quickly prepared and carried out, and we watch the guests marvel at the food and wine. It is fascinating to see how the French appreciate the art around them, from the culinary arts to the interior decor and art on the walls. A male guest remarks to Michel's wife Marie-Pierre about how she had made the place lived in with the decoration she chose.

Then there are visits to a cow farm to understand how they are raised, and learn when goats begin lactating to make cheese, there's a visit to a fromager or cheesemaker, but at this point I began to nod off, as his voice was monotone and they were looking at endless wheels of cheese!

While there is no visit to a winery, we watch a wine tasting take place, and a beekeeper checking up on the industrious insects making honey.

We also visit Leo at La Colline du Colombier, which is a much tighter operation, where several people help with wrapping dumplings and plating desserts, but when it comes to service, it's only a handful of people cooking the dishes. He also has a food truck making gourmet sandwiches and panna cotta that draws a long queue.

Two pastry chefs preparing the desserts

Most interesting was watching Michel in the kitchen, teaching the staff with a firm hand. One cook prepares veal's brains incorrectly. He doesn't severely scold him, but tries to teach him through his mistakes -- which means reading the recipe very carefully before going ahead. In other words, drain the blood first before poaching them otherwise it coagulates...

Michel also tries a new dish by Cesar that has Sriracha in it, along with passion fruit. After a bite, Michel says it has too much Sriracha in it, and takes another bite, adding his tongue is burning. But he doesn't stop eating. Cesar and another chef think it's fine, but Michel says that's because you're just having a bite, which is funny, because the father continues eating the dish even though he claims his mouth is on fire, but loves that the passion fruit flavour comes through.

Menus-Plaisirs -- Les Troisgros unfortunately doesn't give more context, and we as viewers have to hang on what Michel tells his guests to get snippets of the restaurant, how his sons are taking over, but that is he still has the final say, and that the dishes on the menu are constantly evolving.

Nevertheless, it's a fascinating look at what makes a three Michelin-starred restaurant and probably for most people, a greater appreciation for what goes into making your meal a divine experience.

Menus Plaisirs -- Les Troisgros

Directed by Frederick Wiseman

240 minutes