- Madame Mallory: What is this flavor that is fighting against the chicken ?
- Hassan: I added some spices for flavor to the sauce, and coriander for garnish and freshness.
- Madame Mallory: But why change a recipe that is 200 years old ?
- Hassan: Because, madam, maybe 200 years is long enough.
- Papa: You want Hassan because you want another star for yourself, yes ?
- Madame Mallory: Oh, yes. Yes, I will not lie. But I will also offer him a stepping stone to the world. He deserves it. He has a gift.
- Papa: You are very stubborn.
- [rooster crowing]
- Papa: Oh, it's morning already.
- [exhales]
- Papa: A new dawn. So... How much will you pay him per week ?
- Madame Mallory: 200 euro.
- Papa: [chuckling] Now you are proving you are insane.
- Madame Mallory: 250, plus food.
- Papa: If you sit in cold all night, he's worth 600.
- Madame Mallory: [scoffs] In your dreams.
- Papa: 450, or I walk.
- Madame Mallory: 320, but 350 after three month. Do we have a deal ?
- Papa: No.
- Hassan: Yes. We have a deal.
- Papa: [speaking Hindi]
- Hassan: Okay, relax, Papa.
- Papa: What do you mean, "relax" ? Spoiled the whole game.
- Madame Mallory: Papa, we have a deal.
- Papa: Madame...
- Hassan: [narrating] And my mother was my instructor.
- Mama: The sea urchins taste of life, don't you think ? Life has its own flavor. Hidden in that shell, raw, beautiful life.
- Hassan: [narrating] It was an education for all of the senses.
- Mama: But to cook, you must kill. You make ghosts. You cook to make ghosts. Spirits that live on in every ingredient.
- Hassan: [narrating] But mostly, I was taught.
- Hassan: [Slurping] How to taste.
- Mama: Can you taste them?
- Papa: She thinks she owns everybody in town. Do you hear me up there? I say no! Don't try to steal my children!
- Madame Mallory: I will report you, Mr. Kadam, for making too much noise.
- Papa: And I will report you for attempted child abduction!
- Madame Mallory: Have you even asked the boy what he wants?
- Papa: You deliberately seduced him!
- Madame Mallory: [Scoffs]
- Papa: You seduced his mind,with your awful, tasteless, empty sauces! With your pitiful little squashed bits of garlic!
- Madame Mallory: That is called subtlety of flavor.
- Papa: It's called meanness of spirit! If you have a spice, use it! Don't sprinkle it. Spoon it in!
- Madame Mallory: What you do not seem to understand is that there is such a thing as enough. Enough is enough, arrêtez!
- Papa: Yes, enough of you. Always up there like a queen or something. You tell him, it's "classical". What is "classical"?
- Madame Mallory: "Classical" comes from the word "class". And that is what he will learn in my kitchen. He will learn how to cook with class.
- Papa: Indian cannot become French, and the French cannot become Indian.
- Madame Mallory: Mr. Kadam, I think I have just spent the whole day washing those words off your wall.
- Madame Mallory: Do any of you know the words to the Marseillaise? Jean-Pierre?
- Jean-Pierre: Of course. It's our national anthem.
- Madame Mallory: Do you know all the words? "Ils viennent jusque dans vos bras. Égorger vos fils, vos compagnes!" "They come to slit the throats of our sons, our wives". Alors continuer Jean-Pierre.
- Jean-Pierre: "Aux armes citoyens, formez vos bataillons, marchons".
- Madame Mallory: And in English, so we can all understand?
- Jean-Pierre: "To arms citizens, from your battalions, let us march. May their unpure blood..."
- Madame Mallory: "Flow in our fields." And that is what it means to be French n'est-ce pas Jean-Pierre?
- Jean-Pierre: Yes.
- Madame Mallory: Well there are other ways to be French. Liberty. Equality. Fraternity.
- Jean-Pierre: Why are you talking only to me?
- Madame Mallory: Because you know who set the fire, don't you?
- Jean-Pierre: Would you surrender to these invaders?
- Madame Mallory: You tell your friends that these bombs have ended a war. They have brought peace. Bravo. You're a chef. I do not pay you to burn things. Take your knives and go.
- Madame Mallory: Oh. Vous m'étonnez.
- [Chuckles]
- Madame Mallory: You have it. Hmm. Your pigeon had it, too.
- Hassan: I know. I knew then, and I know now.
- Madame Mallory: Arrogance.
- Hassan: A chef must lead.
- Madame Mallory: Sharp and cool and hot in the mouth, all at the same time. Do you know how long it takes chefs to learn that? What will Papa say?
- Hassan: Marguerite! Thank you for the books !
- Marguerite: [chuckling] What books ?
- Hassan: The books !
- Mahira: Papa, it is a very sweet location and the building is fine, but there is a problem, which makes it impossible for us to open a restaurant there. There is already a restaurant.
- Mansur: Just across the street. 100 feet. We measured.
- Mahira: That is why the people moved back to Paris. They couldn't make it pay.
- Mansur: Papa, the restaurant across the street has a Michelin star, hmm?
- Papa: I know, I saw it. Twinkle, twinkle. So what?
- Mansur: Papa, in case you didn't realize it, the French don't even eat Indian food. They have food of their own. It is famous all over the world. This is the end of the road.
- Madame Mallory: Last night, we served this. Miserable, overcooked asparagus. In this restaurant, the cuisine is not an old, tired marriage. It is a passionate affair of the heart.
- Mansur: Papa, it is the best restaurant for 50 miles in any direction. The President of France dines there.
- Papa: Is the President of France able to order murgh masala, with cashew nuts and cardamom? And ka saag aloo? Dal? Our secret family spices?
- Mahira: No, but they are a Michelin star restaurant, Papa.
- Mansur: They have frogs' legs, escargot, ratatouille.
- Papa: ls the President able to order tandoori goat, cooked the way Hassan cooks? Sprinkled with roast spices?
- Mansur: Papa, the restaurant doesn't serve those things, because the people here don't like to eat those things.
- Papa: Because they don't know. They have never tried. Now they shall.
- Hassan: I would like to learn about French cuisine. Perhaps you could recommend a book?
- Marguerite: And why would I do that? You're the enemy now. No?
- Hassan: See you on the battlefield.
- Mansur: Hassan, now we won't have enough time to cook the mutton properly. We should just take it off the menu, yeah?
- Hassan: No. Rest it in a little red wine, and add crushed cardamom.
- Mansur: Wine? We don't use wine.
- Hassan: This is an emergency, Mansur. Wine will flavor the meat. When in Rome.
- Mansur: Yeah, well, we're not in Rome, are we?
- Hassan: Mansur, to survive here, we're going to need to adapt. We have to make use of what is close to us. Then we pray to God that it works.
- Madame Mallory: Well, curry is curry, is it not?
- Papa: Obviously you've never eaten Indian food, especially cooked by my son.
- Madame Mallory: Yes, I understand you people like to keep everything in the family.
- Mayor: Madame, may I offer you a word of caution? These people are different. They are not French. Some in the village, the worst sort, say ugly things about them. Be careful, you are not seen in sympathy with them.
- Madame Mallory: I am rarely accused of being in sympathy with anyone.
- Lady Shepherd: Is it a wedding party over there?
- Madame Mallory: A funeral. The death of good taste in Saint-Antonin.
- Mayor: The restaurant is her entire life. Ever since her husband died, she keeps it up for him. But she has always been, I'm sorry, but in French we say, "têtu comme une mule" - stubborn as an ox.
- Papa: There you are. Very well, I will turn the music down. But you tell her from me, I will turn the heat up.
- Marguerite: What's your favorite dish to cook?
- Hassan: Jalebi.
- Marguerite: What is that?
- Hassan: Fermented dal and flour - deep fried. The smell reminds me of my mother.
- Marguerite: You're lucky. The smell of pigs' feet in vinegar reminds me of my father. Food is memories.
- Hassan: Food *is* memories.
- Hassan: How did you learn about all this stuff?
- Marguerite: I was 12 and I started with the five basics, which is béchamel, velouté, hollandaise, tomato, espagnole. You have to master those five basic sauces first.
- Hassan: And you can find all five in the books?
- Marguerite: Of course, but they're no use in books. You must find them in your heart, and then bring them to your pots. That's the secret.
- Marguerite: Madame Mallory says that she knows in just one mouthful if a chef has the potential to be great.
- Madame Mallory: Are you nervous? Because, you know, you cannot be nervous and make a sauce hollandaise. The eggs will feel it, they will separate.
- Madame Mallory: That is a beautiful bechamel sauce. White as snow! Perfect! But be careful with the heat though.
- Paul: You have reached the very highest level of cuisine. Up here, cooking is no longer an art. It's a science. At La Baleine Grise, we believe that eating is a multi-sensory experience, and certain combinations of flavors and aromas activate enzymes and stimulate specific parts of the brain, evoking pleasure, and also recollections of pleasurable experiences. Like a certain scent will remind you of your first love. Yes, with food you remember. This is the beast with a thousand mouths, that must be fed twice a day. And what does the beast like? Innovation. Innovation. Innovation.
- Papa: They are bloody cruel to make you go through all this every year.
- Madame Mallory: Yes. Cruel. Like the gods.
- Papa: Remember that time we were taking a walk along the river? We picked flowers and...
- Madame Mallory: We did not pick flowers. We were looking for mushrooms. And we found flowers.
- Papa: Which we picked!
- Madame Mallory: Yes, picked flowers, of course, but we were *looking* for mushrooms.