OPENING NIGHT FILM

Every four years, top chefs compete for the French pastry world’s highest honor: Meilleur Ouvrier de France, or MOF. Each competitor must execute over 40 handmade concoctions in just three days, everything from delicate chocolates adorned with gold foil to towering sculptures of blown sugar encircled with colorful candied ribbon, and then, perhaps even more difficult, carry their intricate creations to a separate display table. Those who receive the title are bestowed with a blue, white, and red collar, a symbol of extraordinary talent and endurance.

With the dexterity and flourish of seasoned chefs, D A Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus trace the journey of Jacquy Pfeiffer, co-founder of the French Pastry School in Chicago, through the 2008 competition. One of sixteen finalists (out of seventy hopefuls), Pfeiffer trains for the improbable event as if for a marathon, with time trials, various tastings, and a six-week stay in France leading up to the competition during which he practices in a remote kitchen atop a neighborhood bakery. We follow the meticulous preparations of two other finalists, as well: Chef Regis Lazard, who has gone so far as to install a special training kitchen in his garage, and Chef Phillip Rigollot, who has dreamt of winning the MOF since he was a child.

The film culminates with the competition itself, never made public before now, the tension palpable as each competitor works under the daunting scrutiny of a panel of master chefs and the ticking hand of the clock. The white-knuckle suspense as each masterpiece is moved for display makes the thin line between dream and obsession all the more tenuous.  After the triumph and tears, the exuberance and exhaustion, it is no exaggeration to call these artisans the Kings of Pastry.  ST

Conversation following screening with filmmakers Chris Hegedus and DA Pennebaker and special guest Jacquy Pfeiffer, moderated by Julia Moskin, reporter for the Dining section of The New York Times.