A novel, a series, an essay, a biography and a film… Read and watch gourmet this weekend – Liberation

On this long sunny weekend, we don’t necessarily want to spend our time behind the stove. But because the passion for bectance gives us no respite, we have selected for you a film, a series, a novel, an essay and a biography, which all talk about good food and good wine, but which, we promise, do not contain any recipes that would immediately make you want to go test them in the kitchen.

A novel

“Manako Butter”

The pitch: Rika is a young journalist who devotes most of her life to her work and has little interest in food (and more generally in everything related to the senses and sensuality). Manako, on the other hand, is an attractive, plump woman who loves gastronomy and its pleasures (she blogged about it), and who is imprisoned because she is suspected of having killed several of her lovers. Manako does not want to give an interview on these cases, but she agrees to discuss with the journalist if the latter, in exchange, goes on her indications to taste dishes in well-defined restaurants, and then comes back to tell her everything about her feelings. . As their relationship progresses, Rika will awaken to the immense pleasure that one can feel thanks to his taste buds, and, in doing so, gain a little weight, which in Japanese society passes for letting- go – she will therefore, at the same time, change her outlook on the injunctions made to women.

And it’s good ? Asako Yuzuki writes a skilful and interesting novel, which earned her a nomination for the Naoki prize, the equivalent of Goncourt in Japan. Many passages (even the one where the sensation of melted butter on a mochi or a simple bowl of rice is described) are very sensual.

Where can it be found ? In bookstores, ed. Calmann Levy, 22.90 euros.

A biography

“Joséphine d’Yquem, at the origin of a legendary wine”

The pitch: You necessarily know the name of Château d’Yquem, renowned as one of the greatest French wines, but you did not necessarily know that we owed the development of the estate to Joséphine de Sauvage, who inherited it in 1785 and made it grow. , especially after the death of her husband. At the time, it was rare for an aristocratic woman to take control of a vineyard and innovate so much.

And it’s good ? Christel de Lassus, the author of this biography, is a professor at the Gustave-Eiffel University. She offers here a well-documented story that reads easily, like a novel.

Where can it be found ? In bookstores, ed. Flammarion, 23.90 euros.

A series

“The Drops of God”

The pitch: Camille Léger, a young Frenchwoman who vaguely wrote a book one day but does not really know what to do with her life since, has no contact with her father, Alexandre Léger, oenologist and editor of a guide on wine worldwide. famous, who lives in Japan. Hyper-demanding, brilliant and obnoxious, he educated his daughter in wine from a young age – who was particularly gifted – but after an incident during her childhood, she can no longer drink a drop of alcohol or taste food. flavors too pronounced, without immediately feeling nauseous or bleeding from the nose (in short, his life has become quite boring). When Alexandre Léger dies, she goes to Japan where she discovers that she will have to face, to inherit her father’s properties including a magnificent wine cellar, the one who was her father’s favorite student, Tomine Issei, ultra- talented and he too faces secrets in his own family. They will have to pass several tests, planned by Alexandre Léger himself, to decide between the best oenologist of the two.

And it’s good ? This series (created by Quoc Dang Tran and performed by Fleur Guerrier, Tomohisa Yamashita, Stanley Weber, Gustave Kervern and Cécile Bois, among others) is a fairly loose adaptation of the highly successful manga the drops of god. You have to pass on dialogues that are sometimes a little clumsy, which focus too much on highlighting the extent to which the protagonists are struggling with their demons, but you finally get carried away in the story of this competition, which also includes some instructive scenes on the art of wine tasting and an image of the emotions provoked by this or that rather inventive flavour.

Where can it be found ? On the Canal + and Apple TV platforms.

A try

“The Floating Island”

The pitch: We don’t really know if we should qualify this short text as an essay or a story. Chantal Thomas returns to childhood memories related to food.

And it’s good ? This pretty text is full of memories of sensations and culinary emotions, in which we readily recognize ourselves. It can be read in less than an hour (ideal for the next trip to the park with the children).

Where can it be found ? Editions Le petit Mercure, 5.80 euros (note for your next Secret Santa or for a small gift).

A movie

“The tasting”

The pitch: Jacques (Bernard Campan) is a slightly misanthropic wine merchant (but above all, obviously, unhappy) and quite an alcoholic. Divorced, he lives alone and spends his days in his store, which he manages quite badly (from the point of view of the tax authorities anyway). One day, Hortense (Isabelle Carré), a left-wing Catholic style single woman, who works in an association helping the homeless and conscientiously goes to mass while planning to have a baby on her own, walks into the basement of Jacques. She forces his hand to organize a tasting workshop, in which she registers.

And it’s good ? Ivan Calbérac adapts his play here, staged in 2019 at the Théâtre de la Renaisse, and it shows in the dialogues. This is not fundamentally embarrassing, even if it takes some getting used to. The charm of the interpreters makes us have a good time in front of a pretty little story, not devoid of quite funny passages.

Where can it be found ? On the Canal + and Apple TV platforms. 1h22.