Yes, Chef: This epic doco shows what fine dining really looks like

We visit other locations including the hotel attached to the restaurant and other ventures owned by the family – such as La Colline du Colombier, based in a converted farmhouse, offering a more rustic ambience.

Wiseman drops us into locations and lets us sort things out for ourselves, guided only by the way he has edited footage. He doesn’t use interviews, music, narration or captions identifying people or places, and (unlike, say, Errol Morris, Michael Moore or Nick Broomfield), he never appears on camera. His style is strictly observational and, he insists, he never gives any direction to those he’s filming. He’s there as an onlooker, curious to learn.

To borrow his description, his films are always “voyages of discovery”, as much for him as for his viewers. They take their time and they require patience. His brilliant Near Death (1989), about the intensive care unit at Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital, runs for almost six hours.

Needless to say, there’s no CGI. Menus-Plaisirs is punctuated by shots of real, mouth-watering food, and most of the conversations are about how it might best be presented to customers. There are long takes of waiters speaking to diners about the meals, of the sommelier advising about wine choices, of the fromager pitching the splendours on offer from his super-abundant cheese trolley, of chefs dropping by at tables to catch up with regulars or to make newcomers feel welcome.

Though the people who frequent these places are obviously not from the working classes, it becomes apparent that many of those who work there might be.

Pervading it all is the notion that dining is akin to a theatrical performance with everyone involved putting on a show of one kind or another. This is most apparent in the contrast between Le Bois sans feuilles’ very formal, upmarket style and the more relaxed air that prevails at La Colline: diners dress and act in both places, putting on particular kinds of costume to suit the formal or informal tone. It’s equally evident in the uniforms the staff wear, the way they talk to their guests and to each other.

It’s also worth noting that neither restaurant is plagued by the piped music that some poor souls in the business mistake for “atmosphere”. The film’s soundtrack comes from the warm hum of conversation in the background, the sounds (and silences) of people at work, or the twittering of birds in the natural surrounds.

It might never be mentioned, but the presence of a camera only underlines the performative aspects of the entire process. Nobody looks at it, but everyone can’t help but be aware of it and act in line with what they think their roles require.

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The toque-topped kitchen staff at Le Bois sans feuilles all go about their assignments with a quiet determination that underlines their dedication to their mission in life. Whatever they’re actually thinking, they’re outwardly respectful when their superiors in the culinary hierarchy express disapproval of their endeavours. Being there to learn is the governing principle, but the kitchen at La Colline seems a much happier workplace to acquire an education than the one at Le Bois sans feuilles, for all its sleek, spotless splendour and natural light.

Wiseman has fashioned a very modern portrait of a service industry centred on high-quality food. He enables us to see the funny side of it all – the diners whose eyes seem to be glazing over as the sommelier’s spiel threatens to spiral out of control, the American businessman who theatrically swirls his wine over and over, and over, before nodding a knowing assent – but he also appreciates the artistic impulses involved in creating it.

Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros is available to stream on DocPlay now.

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