Joining the likes of Babette’s Feast and Like Water For Chocolate is The Taste Of Things, another succulent morsel in the mouthwatering sub-genre of foodie films. Be prepared to eat before you venture to the cinema for this, or your stomach will be growling and rumbling at the sight of rustic dishes served up by Eugénie (Juliette Binoche), the skilled cook at this story’s heart.

Adapted from a 1924 novel by Marcel Rouff, this pared-down piece is brought to life by French-Vietnamese filmmaker Trần Anh Hùng (The Scent Of The Green Papaya), who won Best Director in Cannes last year for his work here. Set on a rural estate in France’s Loire Valley in the 19th century, the bare-bones story follows Eugénie as she works for Dodin Bouffant (Benoît Magimel), a well-known gourmet. They have been together for 20 years, with Dodin conjuring up the dishes and Eugénie, with the help of her assistant Violette (Galatea Bellugi), cooking them to perfection.

She and Dodin are lovers too, but Eugénie resists the idea of marriage, valuing her independence too much. Beyond this, Hùng doesn’t over-saturate the film with plot; this is a work that takes its sweet time to come to the boil. Mostly, you’ll be left salivating at the stunning dishes on show, as the camera prowls around the kitchen. But slowly, through the work of Binoche and Magimel (former partners themselves), emotions come to life, with a story that examines with real tenderness the power of love and importance of time
well spent.
The Taste Of Things is in cinemas from Friday 16 February.