Celebrity-chef biopic meets spy caper in a lavish new French drama.
A feast for the eyes—and occasionally a stretch for credulity—Carême Apple TV+ review finds the streamer whipping Napoleonic intrigue, erotic escapades, and drool-worthy pâtisserie into eight glossy episodes.
The result is messy but irresistible television that proves charisma, confection, and conspiracy can share a plate.
A Revolutionary Premise
Born in poverty yet blessed with genius taste buds, Antonin Carême (Benjamin Voisin) rises from Paris pastry apprentice to personal chef for power broker Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand.
In this Carême Apple TV+ review, the hook isn’t just haute cuisine; it’s Carême’s moonlighting as a covert operative, slipping secrets alongside vol-au-vents to Europe’s elite. Director Martin Bourboulon stirs fact with fanciful fiction, yielding a flavor closer to Bridgerton than Master Chef—and that’s the point.
“We loved the idea of food as weaponry,” co-creator Stacey Aglok MacDonald told press.
“Seduction on the plate becomes seduction in the palace.”
Recipe for Intrigue: Food, Sex, Espionage
Every dish in Carême Apple TV+ review doubles as bait. Antonin’s gravity-defying croquembouches soften enemy resolve; his herbal remedies literally save Napoleon’s life.
Soon, diplomacy morphs into culinary cat-and-mouse. The series winks at modern subscription culture (premium access to taste, anyone?) while nodding to real history: Carême did impress Napoleon, Tsar Alexander, and Britain’s future George IV.
Yet the show’s secret ingredient is libidinous energy. Antonin beds lovers in carriages, rooftops, and royal chambers, spinning a love triangle with progressive Henriette (Lyna Khoudri) and calculating Joséphine Bonaparte (Maud Wyler). Sometimes the seductions feel more 007 than 1807, but Voisin’s swagger sells the fantasy.
Characters Who Pop Like Champagne
- Antonin Carême – Voisin delivers bad-boy magnetism and precise knife work, grounding the larger-than-life premise.
- Henriette – Khoudri radiates warmth and political savvy, refusing to play mere muse.
- Agathe – Alice Da Luz steals scenes as a Black sous-chef who may outshine her boss.
- Talleyrand – Jérémie Renier gives the suave minister a playful menace worthy of modern prestige TV villains.
Female roles initially sparkle as commentary on soft power but drift toward melodramatic cliffhangers in later episodes—a minor blemish on an otherwise rich ensemble.
Visual Flavor Worth Bingeing
Apple spares no expense: candlelit kitchens glow with ember-orange warmth, while Loire Valley châteaux and Paris alleys provide postcard vistas. Camera crews linger on chocolate drips and sugar spires until you can almost smell the butter. Importantly, the kitchen chaos never mimics The Bear; it’s choreographed like a balletic service line, each soufflé rising on cue.
Where the Soufflé Sags
This Carême Apple TV+ review wouldn’t be honest without noting genre bloat. The show juggles biography, political thriller, sex farce, and kitchen drama; not every storyline bakes through. Later twists telegraph themselves, and historical purists may bristle at liberties taken. Still, the pace rarely slows, and when Carême plates his next edible sculpture, skepticism melts like icing.
Verdict: Worth a Taste—With Room for Seconds
For viewers craving sumptuous escapism, Carême Apple TV+ review serves a rich banquet of flavors: sumptuous sets, sly humor, culinary porn, and enough palace intrigue to fill a week of gossip sheets. History buffs seeking strict accuracy may leave half-starved, but adventurous diners will ask for another course.
Carême premieres April 30 on Apple TV+, with new episodes every Wednesday.
Voisin and Khoudri said that “Carême” — which was shot on location in Paris over eight months — was a huge opportunity for them as young French actors because of the scale and global distribution of an American streaming giant like Apple TV+. “Carême” shows that a French team “can pull it off, given the resources,” Khoudri said. The actress also starred in Bourboulon’s recent “Three Musketeers” movies, which similarly showed that France could also export commercially successful blockbusters.
With its preoccupation with sex, politics and food, “Carême” is another quintessentially French global export. And that’s fine by its director. Bourboulon said with satisfaction: “We love to seem like this in France.”
