Film Screening: Au Menu—Kings of Pastry

Chris Hegedus, D. A. Pennebaker • 2010 • 84 mins • France

Join us for the next installment of Au Menu, our gastronomy-themed film series!

Kings of Pastry is a film by D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus that follows a group of world-class French pastry chefs as they compete for France’s most prestigious craftsmen award: Meilleur Ouvrier de France, awarded by former French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The film focuses primarily on Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer, co-founder of Chicago’s French Pastry School, and one of the sixteen finalist chefs competing.

Post-screening discussion with François Peltier, Foreign Policy & Diplomacy Service Assistant at the Consulate General of Canada in Chicago.

About the directors

One of the most respected and unique teams of documentary filmmakers working today, they are notably reknown for the variety of topics they have covered. Together, they founded the company Pennebaker Hegedus Films. In 2013 The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized D A Pennebaker’s body of work with an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement. 

About François Peltier

François obtained his Master’s degree in Cinema Studies from the Université de Rennes in 2017. He has studied contemporary French cinema and is particularly passionate about the evolution of television series in the 21st century.

François moved to Chicago in 2018 and worked with us at the Alliance Française. He now works in the Foreign Policy and Diplomacy Services of the Consulate General of Canada in Chicago where, among other duties, he facilitates the Consulate’s collaboration with the Alliance, the French Consulate, and other organizations in planning Francophone and French cultural events in Chicago.