Not only are the French one-of-a-kind eccentrics, but they also have Americans completely beat when it comes to food fights. No, not those infantile shenanigans in your elementary school cafeteria. We mean those infantile reality competition shows on the Food Network. While shows like Hell’s Kitchen and Next Food Network Star pit chefs against each other season after season, the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (Best Craftsmen in France) competition takes place every four years—yes, like the Olympics. And guess what? They don’t televise it. Know what else? The winner doesn’t get his own TV show or any prize money either. The grand prize is a red, white, and blue-striped collar to wear on their cute little chef coat for life. For the first time ever, this competition has been captured on film in the Kings of Pastry, a documentary about 16 French pastry chefs hoping President Nicolas Sarkozy declares them one of the best. The film follows them during three intense days of mixing, piping, and sculpting everything from delicate chocolates to six-foot sugar sculptures. Check out the pièce de résistance at the Coral Gables Art Cinema on Friday.
Fri., Dec. 10, 7 p.m., 2010