100-Foot Journey

The 100-Foot Journey

2014

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Director:
Lasse Hallström
Writers:
Steven Knight (screenplay), Richard C. Morais (novel)
Stars:
Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Manish Dayal

Neither love nor sex plays a very large
The Kadam family leaves India for France where they open a restaurant directly across the road from Madame Mallory's Michelin-starred eatery.
Neither love nor sex plays a very large part in this story. For the most part, any normal lust is replaced with food-lust and well… no movie has ever been rated R for explicitly sexy food...Yet! At the same time, however, there are brief moments of arousal and passion that are alluded to pretty generally and… wait for it… described in terms of food.
Neither love nor sex plays a very large part in this story. For the most part, any normal lust is replaced with food-lust and well… no movie has ever been rated R for explicitly sexy food. At the same time, however, there are brief moments of arousal and passion that are alluded to pretty generally and… wait for it… described in terms of food.
In a Nutshell
What do you get when you combine…

A loud and loving Indian family,
A manic chef whose been stuck in the French Alps collecting dust for ages,
A young boy with impressive culinary talent,
And the Parisian world of haute--fashionably elegant or high-class cuisine?

A delicious adventure..that's what!
You'll be cooking at home at the end of the day!

The Novel
This is the story of a young Indian boy who—through a series of twists and turns—finds himself training to be a French chef. The Hundred-Foot Journey is the first novel written by author Richard C. Morais. Despite his rookie status, though, when it was published in 2010, it became an international bestseller, and was even included in the "Editor's Choice" of the New York Times Book Review. This narrative can be compared to Slumdog Millionaire and Ratatouille at the same time. Pretty cool...Right?

Themes:

**Cooking food is the heart and soul of The Hundred-Foot Journey, and the thing that pulls Hassan back and forth across cultural lines. His family uses food to bring their Indian culture to the little French town of Lumière—hello, tension—and a key component of Hassan's process of coming into his own is figuring out how to strike a balance between the food he's grown up with and the food that's revered by the French culinary world. Add to this the fact that Hassan elevates cooking to true artistry—he's nothing if not a master—and we've got ourselves this theme.
Questions About Cooking

Do the types of memories Hassan has go along with certain types of foods? For example, are the happy memories remembered by delicious good food while the bad memories are marked by nasty food? Or is it maybe all the same?
Do you think that Hassan experiences the world through food and cooking at the expense of experiencing the world in other ways? Do you think that because he is so obsessed with becoming a chef he misses out on some of life's other important experiences?
Do his associations and memories change as Hassan moves around the world? Does his sense as an artist evolve with his changing surroundings?

**Contrasting Regions Born in India and from an Indian family, Hassan finds himself navigating European culture for much of his adult life in The Hundred-Foot Journey. This straddling of two very different cultures—we're talking food, religion, and more—is something Hassan struggles to strike the right balance with throughout the story. Whereas Hassan's father and sisters stick to their Indian ways of life throughout the film, Hassan adapts much more of the European ways. It isn't until he adopts what he learns from both worlds and creates a synthesis between them, though, that Hassan really stands tall.

Questions About Contrasting Regions: West vs. East

By the end of the book, does Hassan seem to become more French than Indian? Do you think there are aspects that he takes of both cultures? Which aspects and why?
How do the two cultures influence Hassan's career?
Hassan talks about Lumière being the turning point between his past and his future. How do the two cultures form his becoming an adult in Lumière?

**Family is a huge priority in The Hundred-Foot Journey, and Hassan places himself within the context of his family legacy from the very beginning when he introduces his own story with the story of his grandfather's. This familial context stays strong throughout the film, when Hassan says that the success of earning his third star fulfills "the hungry space of generations ago.” In short, it's really important to Hassan that he is part of a larger picture, which makes him who he is.
The Haji family is a unit throughout the story, even when Hassan strikes out on his own. Papa's words—"'Remember sweet boy, you are a Haji. Always remember. “A Haji” a Haji is a Muslim who has been to Mecca as a pilgrim. Papa tells Hassen to stay with Him through every important moment of your life. The closeness and connection of family is a gift that Hassan never lets go, and it helps guide him every step of the way.

Questions About Family

Do you think Hassan ever strays away from his family, or does he remain as close to them throughout the book?
How does family impact Hassan's career?
Do you think that his family is the main reason for Hassan's fascination with food? Why or why not?
Do you think that the Haji family dynamic would have stayed the same if they had remained in India?

**Admiration/ Hassan has lots of heroes in The Hundred-Foot Journey. He's the perfect student because he readily looks up to the leading figures in his life: Papa, Mama, Paul Verdun, and even Madame Mallory. And since Hassan doesn't have a big ego, he firmly believed that his success is thanks in large part to those who have helped him along the way; as such, he admires the heck out of these folks.
Even after his mentors die—and importantly, they all do, thereby forcing Hassan to take the lead in his life—a part of them stays with him, constantly pushing him to be a better person than he was before.
Questions About Admiration

Which figure does Hassan admire the most?
Is there a character that Hassan consistently does not admire throughout the story? Why or why not?
Does Hassan always admire the right people or do false heroes at some point lure him?
By the end of the story, does Hassan become a figure that others admire as well?

**Tradition/In The Hundred-Foot Journey, Hassan's profession faces a good amount of change. Cultural shifts aside (more on that elsewhere in this section), he's brought into this super traditional legacy of French cuisine that's been passed down for centuries, and which he grows to love However, when he gets a bit older, the new chefs on the block are getting rid of the old ways in favor of new avant-garde approaches. Paul Verdun, who built his empire on the old ways, can't adapt, and Hassan struggles to decide if there is a place for tradition and change at the same time.

Questions About Tradition

Why do you think the author creates all the tension about the tradition of French cuisine, when it isn't even Hassan's native culture?
Does Hassan decide in the end that the old ways, the new ways, or a mixture of both is best?
Can Paul Verdun be considered a martyr to tradition? Is it worth the fight?
How does Hassan's upbringing give him strength to decide for himself what is worth saving from the old ways and what is worth adopting of the new?

**Prejudice/The idea of some people being better than others is an issue that rears its ugly face from time to time throughout The Hundred-Foot Journey. Sometimes prejudice is based on who has more money, but other times the conflict is based more on differences of race or religion. So when the family lives in Mumbai, we see them dealing with a growing upper class that they just aren't a part of, but when they arrive in France, we can't help but sense that part of Mallory's displeasure in their arrival is based on their Indian identity.
Prejudiced comments are thrown into the dialogue from time to time but the author doesn't dwell on them. We move on through the plot while this issue stays in the background, which is exactly how prejudice seems to operate in their lives.

Questions About Prejudice

Are all the types of prejudice in the story fundamentally connected? Why or why not?
Do you think that Hassan is ever at a true disadvantage because of his race? What characters are most disadvantaged because of the prejudice of others?
How does Madame Mallory resolve feelings of prejudice by the end of her life?
Are prejudice issues resolved by the end of the story? If not resolved completely, how do things come together in the end?

**Competition/Hassan is constantly caught in the crossfire of those willing to do anything to get ahead, whether it's Papa and Mallory's competitive fighting that lands him in a burning stove or, later on in life, cooking in the dog-eat-dog world that kills his friend Paul and threatens to put an end to Hassan as well. So is competition a good thing in The Hundred-Foot Journey? We're thinking it isn't, at least not when it comes to competition between people. Insofar as Hassan is competitive with himself and always trying to up his game, though, well, we think it works out just fine.

Questions About Competition

Would Hassan be able to succeed at what he does without having a competitive personality?
Usually bad things happen when people get really competitive in this book. Is there a situation where competition ends well?
Does Paul Verdun fall into ruin because he is overly competitive, or is it because he foolishly doesn't think that he has competition at all?
Do you think that Hassan does not have to be competitive because his friends do the dirty work for him? Why or why not?

**Coming of Age/ Learning is the essence of life in The Hundred-Foot Journey. One of Hassan's main traits is that he's open to the world around him, and he takes each experience as an opportunity to better understand both the world around him and the part he plays—or wants to play—in it. The story is speckled with epiphanies, both big and small, and as our narrator, Hassan constantly foregrounds these moments that change him and help him become who he is by the end of the film. In other words, Hassan isn't just open to change—he places a premium value on coming into his own.

Questions About Coming of Age

Which is more the focus of the story: Hassan becoming an adult or becoming a chef?
Does Hassan continue to come of age after he moves to Paris?
Compare Hassan's coming of age story to others that you have read. How is it similar and how is it different?
Out of his life experiences, which events help Hassan grow the most?

For Brian below:

The 5 French Mother Sauces

Béchamel. This is roux whisked with milk or other dairy to make a white sauce. ...
Velouté A velouté is a light roux whisked with chicken, turkey, fish or any other clear stock. ...
Espagnole. Sauce espagnole is a basic brown sauce. ...
Beschemel
Hollandaise.

Squab (food)From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fried pigeon with nasi timbel(banana leaf wrapped rice), tempeh,tofu and vegetables. Sundanese cuisine, Indonesia.In culinary terminology, squab is a young domestic pigeon, typically under four weeks old,[1] or its meat. The meat is widely described as tasting like dark chicken. The term is probably of Scandinavian origin; the Swedish word skvabb means "loose, fat flesh".[2] It formerly applied to all dove and pigeon species, such as thewood pigeon, the mourning dove, and the now-extinct passenger pigeon,[3][4] and their meat. More recently, squab meat comes almost entirely from domesticated pigeons. The meat of dove and pigeon gamebirds hunted primarily for sport is rarely called squab.[3]
The practice of domesticating pigeon as livestock may have come from the Middle East; historically, squabs or pigeons have been consumed in many civilizations, including Ancient Egypt, Rome and Medieval Europe. Although squab has been consumed throughout much of recorded history, it is generally regarded as exotic, not as a contemporary staple food; there are more records of its preparation for the wealthy than for the poor.
The modern squab industry uses utility pigeons. Squabs are raised until they are roughly a month old, when they reach adult size but have not yet flown, before being slaughtered.

The 5 mother sauces every cook should know

FROM
Food52 Staff
February 19, 2015
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In the 19th century, Marie-Antoine Carême anointed Béchamel, Velouté, Espagnole, and tomato sauce as the building blocks for all other sauces in his work L'Art de la Cuisine Française au Dix-Neuvième Siecle. Later on, Hollandaise got added to the family. Since then, many people consider others sauces — sweet and savory from all around the world — as unofficial extended relatives of these five sauces.
Though some will argue for the importance of chimichurri and chocolate sauce, it's a knowledge of the five French mother sauces that will prove essential. They may seem intimidating, but mother sauces will nurture your kitchen confidence. With a few simple ingredients (mostly flour, butter, and a liquid) and a couple easy techniques, these five sauces, all equally important to your cooking repertoire, serve as the starting point for a slew of other classics.

Once you get the feel for these sauces, you’ll be able to whisk them up whenever you want to get fancy. And soon enough, you'll feel confident enough to break tradition and take that Mother Sauce somewhere she’s never gone before. Here's what you need to know about the building blocks of sauces:

Beyond flavor, the most important element of any sauce is its ability to smother and cling to whatever it gets drizzled, dolloped, or poured on. That means making the sauce thick and stable, which is accomplished with three techniques: a roux, an emulsifier, and a reduction (liquid that's slowly cooked down until thick).

Four out of the five mother sauces start with a roux. Roux is a fancy name for flour mixed with fat. Equal parts butter and flour get cooked over medium heat, then a liquid gets added. This mixture then boils, thickens (reduces), and becomes the base of your sauce. Just note, if you’re making a white sauce — like Béchamel or Velouté — do not brown the butter, as it will darken the finished product. The last mother sauce is a product of emulsification, which I'll explain below.

Here are the basic formulas of the five mother sauces:
Béchamel: Roux + Dairy (traditionally milk or cream)
Véloute: Roux + White Stock (traditionally chicken, but also vegetable or fish)
Espagnole: Roux + Brown Stock (traditionally veal or beef)
Tomato: Roux + Tomatoes (or, go the Italian route by skipping the roux and simply reducing tomatoes over medium-low heat until thick)
Hollandaise: Egg Yolks + Clarified Melted Butter + Acid (like lemon juice or white wine)

Now that you understand the basics, let’s talk about each Mother Sauce in more detail (and what to pair them with):
Béchamel
If you've eaten homemade macaroni and cheese, a classic croque madame, or lasagna, chances are you’ve experienced the rich creaminess of Béchamel. It can be made in its most basic form by just combining roux and cream, or it can be mixed with other ingredients to create new sauces: Mornay is made by adding Gruyère or Parmesan, and mustard sauce is made by adding — you guessed it — mustard.

Here are some other ways to use Béchamel:

Swap in Béchamel for some of the cream in a gratin.
Pour it over polenta cakes and broil for a few minutes until bubbly and golden brown.

Once you've mastered basic Béchamel, here's how to get more creative: Spike a classic Béchamel with soy and miso for a new take on Trent Pierce’s miso-creamed kale or Nobu’s fried asparagus.
Velouté
Like good old Béchamel, Velouté begins with a white roux, but then it gets mixed with white stock made from fish, chicken, or veal. Technically not a finished sauce, it's used as a flavorful starting point for gravies, mushroom sauces (hello chicken pot pie), and shrimp sauce (hello shrimp bisque).

Here are some other ways to use Velouté:

Whip up Velouté with veal stock, then use it to make Swedish meatballs.
Smother biscuits with an herby gravy for breakfast.

Once you've mastered basic Velouté, here's how to get more creative: Make velouté vegetarian with a mushroom-based stock for this Vegetarian Mushroom Thyme Gravy.
Espagnole
Although some think blond roux have more fun, Espagnole proves that dark roux know how to party, too. Also known as brown sauce, Espagnole begins with a mirepoix (carrots, celery, and onions), beef stock, and deglazed brown bits (fond) from beef bones. From there, tomato paste and spices may be added.
To make a demi-glace, a rich French brown sauce, combine the Espagnole with more beef stock; to create Bordelaise, a red wine sauce that pairs well with steak and mushrooms, mix the demi-glace with red wine and herbs. Serve this with filet mignon for an excellent dinner.

Here are some other ways to use Espagnole and its variations:

Pair roast lamb with a demi-glace.
Drizzle a little Bordelaise over mushroom risotto.

Once you've mastered basic Espagnole, here's how to get more creative: Take Espagnole somewhere new by adding tamarind paste and making Dan Barber’s braised short ribs.
Tomato
Probably the first mother sauce you ever tasted (over a heaping bowl of spaghetti), tomato sauce is often a mixture of just onions, garlic, and tomatoes. Although some traditionalists may start with a roux, most tomato sauces merely rely on a tomato reduction to build flavor and create thickness.

Here are some other ways to use tomato sauce:

One word: pizza.
Turn tomato sauce into breakfast with shakshuka.

Once you've mastered basic tomato sauce, here's how to get more creative: Marcella Hazan's tomato sauce can't be beat, but if you want to think outside of Italy, use your tomato sauce to make lentil cakes with tikka masala instead.
Hollandaise
Think of Hollandaise as a fancy mayonnaise that uses clarified butter in place of oil and gets drizzled over asparagus and eggs without judgment. Instead of using a roux or a reduction, Hollandaise uses the method of emulsification: the act of using a binding agent (in this case, an egg yolk) to force two ingredients that don't mix well together (here, butter and lemon juice) to like each other immensely. Hollandaise takes patience, as you'll need to temper the mixture so that the eggs do not curdle. The sauce can break easily, but you can patch things back together by adding a little heavy cream and whisking until the sauce returns to its smooth state; or use Amanda's trick for fixing broken aioli — a close relative of Hollandaise sauce — by using the broken emulsification to start your next batch. Sound like a lot of hard work? This fried green tomato benedict makes it all worth the trouble.
When mixed with unsweetened whipped cream, Hollandaise suddenly becomes airy Mousseline that can be poured over fish or vegetables.

Here are some other ways to use Hollandaise: