Don't let Helen Mirren's above the title billing fool you, she's not the star. The film belongs to Manish Dayal who is Hassan Kadam, an Indian transplanted to a small village in southern France. His Papa (Om Puri), buys a restaurant across from the famous Madame Mallory's (Helen Mirren's). Hers has been here for decades and she is desperate for more stars, which grade restaurants in France.
Papa and Madame Mallory get along horribly at first, buying out of certain foods so the other restaurant will fail; only after one of Madame Mallory's chef burns part of the Kadam restaurant does she finally soften and fire the evildoer amongst her staff. Eventually, she and Papa form an interesting relationship, to say the least.
Now, of course, there is more. There is Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon), an aspiring chef for Madame Mallory. She is delightful and extremely helpful to Hassan, who wants to be more than just a cook in his father's restaurant. Marguerite lends him books and encourages him in his endeavor, until Madame Mallory offers him a job. Then she instantly becomes threatened. He is a threat to her rise in their same career path. It takes time but eventually she returns to liking him but he also forgives her way too easily.
Then, Madame Mallory's restaurant earns its second star. Marguerite knows that it is because of Hassan and the differences he has made to classic recipes. And this is when the film sort of falls apart. Hassan goes to Paris where he has a great job in an experimental kitchen, creating all sorts of odd food combinations. Here, he is nearly a celebrity, people recognize him and want to take pictures with him. But Hassan slowly loses his passion and turns to drinking more alcohol.
Everything comes together in the end, with Hassan returning to the small village and taking over Madame Mallory's restaurant but it is his idea to have Marguerite as a business partner and, naturally, they get back together as a couple too because this is Hollywood and a happy ending all around is needed.
If I wanted to get nit picky with this film, I could and did find things wrong with the film. For example, the film starts with Hassan telling someone in immigration his past and about his passion for cooking which is odd and an immigration officer wouldn't have the time to listen to all of that. Still, the audience needed to know his upsetting past. (His mother was burned to death in a fire set by followers of a political enemy.) Also, Hassan's hands heal far too well and quickly in the nasty fire. And the romance between Papa and Madame Mallory is just odd. Also, the other siblings of the Kadam family are underdeveloped and the youngest two are almost unnecessary, though they do provide some genuinely funny laughs throughout.
But the cooking looks authentic and there is some great camera work. The sets are also fabulous and the acting is also great. And, yes, I truly liked the film, it was enjoyable. It also wasn't entirely predictable, with a few curve balls, some bigger than others, along the way. Hopefully, Dayal will be offered more roles after this because he is a good actor. This film may not change lives or even massively change how you think, but something enjoyable is needed. Grade: B+
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