The Menu

“[The Chef] Slowik is quite a complex character. I wanted to show his dedication to the elevation and innovation of his artform, to the point of putting his own life on the line – so mesmerizing and extraordinary. Ralph and I were both very determined not to present the character as a caricature. We wanted to find his humanity and his pain and understand his actions. Not to forgive or condone them, but to at least give them context and authenticity as best as we could. […] 

Dominique Crenn was key to our process. She is an incredible world class chef, and her food is extraordinary in terms of its artfulness, but it also has an emotional warmth. We specifically wanted Chef Slowik’s creations to have an emotional coldness. To be beautiful, but somewhat dead. That’s obviously an extension of where his soul is and where his psyche is and where we find him in the story. That enabled Dominique to play her role creating the Chef’s menu. That was part of the attraction for her, as well as poking fun at the excesses of her own artform. She was in on the joke.”

Mark Mylod