Frederick Wiseman is your favorite documentary filmmaker’s favorite documentary filmmaker. He has been making films since 1963, and his style is unmistakable. He uses a technique that sounds austere, but is borderline magical, which is to intervene as little as possible. There is no voiceover narrative, and he doesn’t interview his subjects. Many of his most famous films focus on institutions; how they work, or do not. One of his most famous films, Titicut Follies, came out in 1967, and documented the daily routine of life at a mental hospital in Massachusetts. More recently, he released City Hall, a four-and-a half-hour exploration of how bureaucracy works in the City of Boston. The winter of 2025 seems like a perfect time to stream his most recent film, which is about a very fancy French restaurant.
One of the many things that Yogi Berra may or may not have said is that you can observe a lot by just watching. Regardless of the source, it’s a dictate that Weisman has taken to heart over his career, and maybe most profoundly in this film. Wiseman’s most recent pursues the same method of a deep dive into an institution, but instead of a mental hospital or a high school, Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgiros engages in the pleasanter topic of putting food on the table at one of the most prestigious restaurants in the world, the Troisgiros family’s Le Bois Sans Feuilles. The Troisgiros family has been a leading name in French cuisine for generations, and this restaurant is the serious three Michelin starred flagship. If you commit to the full experience, it’s currently 390 ($410) Euros per person, or 610 ($640) Euros with a wine pairing.
Eating here is a major financial commitment. Similarly, a four hour documentary is a major time commitment, but it is a film that is well suited for streaming, in that it does not suffer from being consumed over two (or three) viewings. It is a simple film about something very elaborate – in what feels almost like real time, it charts the course of service over one day at one of the best regarded restaurants in the world. There is no exposition or narrative. There are occasional side quests to the gardens or vineyards, but that’s it. The subject of all this attention are the incredibly intricate meals this restaurant produces.
One of the strengths of this film is that it is not clear what Weisman is trying to tell us. He is a filmmaker who embodies the related virtues of compassion and curiosity, and it is fascinating to watch these dishes come together. There are moments, too, where one wonders if the whole enterprise is a good idea. Four hundred dollars is a lot of money to pay for a meal, and seeing the enormous labor that goes into these meals explains the cost, but also will make some wonder if everyone involved could be doing something else. In order to maintain three Michelin stars, a restaurant like this cannot just serve the same menu year in year out, however flawlessly executed. There are times where it feels as if maybe the cooking is out in front of the diners, many of whom just look happy to be at the famous restaurant as a server details the unusual ingredients in a salad.
There are a lot of ways a meal can be good. A greasy slice of pizza at 2am can be good. Your mom’s famous pozole might hit the spot like nothing else can. The best restaurant in many towns can dazzle with fancy ingredients and attentive service. But having and keeping three Michelin stars involves more than having enough gruyere on top of the French onion soup. We see the process from the animals and produce the family raises to the hard work in the kitchen to the incredibly conscientious service in the dining room. It is hard not to be impressed. (I lobbied for Decider to send me to eat at this restaurant for research, but it did not work out.)
For a home cook, watching this documentary is like a weekend golfer watching the PGA championship. It is fun to watch the best in the world do something you also enjoy doing. That said, Menus-Plaisirs is not for the faint of heart. Among the items on offer are frogs and veal brains. There are also stretches of this film that work almost like ASMR. The world seems a little out of whack, or you had a long day at work? Watching a trained chef with a sharp knife chop rosemary for longer than you can imagine is just the ticket.
This documentary is currently streaming on PBS, and one convenient feature is the clips from the film this platform offers. You can enjoy the foraging on its own, or the desserts, or even the veal brains and frogs. If you cannot commit to the whole thing, you can enjoy a little snack instead, which I hope gives you an appetite to watch the whole enchilada.
Jonathan Beecher Field was born in New England, educated in the Midwest, and teaches in the South. He Tweets professionally as @ThatJBF, and unprofessionally as @TheGurglingCod. He also writes for Avidly and Common-Place when the mood strikes.
