The Kadam family has run a restaurant in Mumbai for several years. The second-oldest son, Hassan, serves as the main cook. However, a mob attacks and firebombs the restaurant over an election dispute. Papa Kadam and his family successfully evacuate the guests; however, Papa's wife is killed in the fire. Seeking asylum in Europe, the family first settles in London, where their residence proves ill-suited for a restaurant. They depart for mainland Europe.
Shortly after crossing the border between Switzerland and France, the brakes on Papa's van fail, which results in the family being forced to stay a night in a nearby French village. Marguerite, asous chef at an upscale French restaurant in town, feeds the Kadams and helps them find an auto repair shop and a guest house. Papa is amazed at the quality of the food in the village and its availability. He learns of an abandoned restaurant building on the outskirts of town available for purchase. Seeing this as divine providence, Papa decides to renovate it into an Indian restaurant.
The building is directly across the street from the upscale French restaurant. Its widowed owner, Madame Mallory, tries to sabotage the Kadams by purchasing all the locally available ingredients needed to cook their dishes on opening night. This starts a cold war erupts between Papa and Madame Mallory. The war peaks on Bastille Day, when one of Madame Mallory's chefs and two others vandalize the Kadams' by spray-painting the outer wall and firebombing the interior. Hassan catches the would-be arsonists in the act and scares them off, but his hands end up burned.
The following morning, Madame Mallory convenes a meeting of her chefs and asks them if they know the words to La Marseillaise. After citing lines from the song concerning equality and justice, she fires the chef responsible for the vandalism and then voluntarily cleans up the graffiti. Hassan, having heard that Madame Mallory hires potential chefs by taste-testing an omelet they prepare for her, asks if he may cook an omelet for her to his recipe. Citing his injured hands, he says Madame Mallory will have to help him with the process. After sampling Hassan's omelet, Madame Mallory concedes to his potential to be a great chef and invites him to work for her. Papa is initially dead set against the move, but reluctantly agrees.
Hassan's cooking proves popular and unconventional enough to result in Madame Mallory's restaurant receiving its second Michelin Star, an elite honor bestowed on only a handful of restaurants in Europe. The award draws national attention to Hassan's cooking, and he is offered a job in Paris, which he accepts. Papa and Madame Mallory make amends and ultimately begin romancing each other.
Hassan's cooking quickly receives critical acclaim, fueling speculation of a third Michelin Star for the Paris restaurant; however, Hassan's restaurant work is increasingly bogged down by thoughts of his family and Marguerite, with whom he had an ongoing romance. Hassan decides to return home, where he and Marguerite reunite. He asks Marguerite to join him in a business venture--buying a stake in Madame Mallory's restaurant, along with operational control. Hassan believes that this will help Madame Mallory's restaurant earn its third Michelin Star. That evening, Hassan and Marguerite are allowed to cook dinner for Hassan's family at Madame Mallory's restaurant. As the two young chefs bring out the dishes for the meal, everyone looks forward to an evening of romance and fine dining.
Labels: MOVIE
