Careme – Season 1 Episode 3 Recap & Review

The Review Geek

07-05-2025

A Recipe for a Disaster
Episode 3 of Careme begins with the orphan being released from custody. He immediately heads back to see Careme, who patches up the wounds on his hands. Apparently this guy kept quiet and remained loyal to the cause, which is perhaps just as well given Fouche is starting to tighten the leash!
There's disorder in the streets and things soon turn violent when Catherine and Henriette's carriage is attacked by angry bystanders. This appears to be the work of Germaine after the letter circling the party last episode. They smash the glass and look set to hurt them, until the police show up on horses and break things up.
Catherine is furious, especially when she returns to Talleyrand. She believes it's the work of De Stael, playing 'armchair revolutionist'. Just to make matters worse, the carriage has been painted with the words 'Death to Bonaparte' too.
Talleyrand visits Careme and explains that Germaine's pamphlets have caused everything to begin cracking at the seams, and Talleyrand wants to try and patch things up before it turns ugly. This stems from using Careme as a spy to gather the pamphlets over at her apartment.
At the Hotel de Salm, Careme shows up to see Germaine. He shows off the menu he's been working on but also uses this opportunity to briefly scout the place too, although that's quite difficult given a couple of men are here already. However, he promises Germaine a big surprise for the starter.
The dinner looks set to go ahead and as Germaine shows at Talleyrand's place, there are light hostilities between her and Catherine. The pair grin through the games and keep up appearances, all whilst Careme heads into Germaine's room to find the pamphlets.
What Careme finds instead though is one big scandal. Charlotte has been having an affair with Charles, Talleyrand's son, and it turns out she's pregnant. Their child will be heir if Napoleon Bonaparte and Joséphine don't have kids. This is a huge scandal and it's just what Careme needs to stir the pot. As he sneaks out the room, Charles winds up seeing him but doesn't say anything. At least not initially anyway. He does confront Careme in the stairwell later on, but they agree to keep each other's secrets… for now.
Back in the kitchen, a guy called Grimod Reyniere arrives, grilling Careme and messing with the kitchen. Careme is not particularly happy as he waltzes about and tries the food, but it turns out Reyniere is actually the biggest food critic in France, so his opinion is not one to take lightly.
Careme knows that this is serious and works on his dishes with renewed focus, showing the others how he intends to present this dish to the guests. While this is going on, Talleyrand pleads with Germaine to show off the original pamphlet, which he wants to destroy, otherwise if Fouche finds it first, she'll be killed for defying Bonaparte.
The dishes are presented, just as Fouche shows up at the party with his soldiers, and the food critic (among many others) are impressed by Careme's talents. Well, for a bit anyway. He also has a lot of backhanded insults toward the young chef, including throwing shade at his father.
Now, Fouche is intending to find these pamphlets, which he believes is hidden behind the barrels in the wine cellar, which happen to show off a secret entrance to Germaine's study, which includes a printing press.
Now, earlier on Careme actually snuck in here and removed the pamphlets, replacing them with alternate versions that praise Napoleon. This also explains why Careme was late announcing the food to the party just moments before.
Anyway, Fouche uncovers the pamphlets and is left with egg on his face when he finds out they're not genuine. However, the inspector checks the printing press and realizes the letters are identical and as a result, Germaine is arrested.
Talleyrand encourages her to flee, for the sake of France's future, prompting Fouche to turn his attention over to Bailly. He tries to persuade Careme's father to play ball, and shows off his son's handwriting. Fouche has sussed out who Careme is and admits that the guy is in very murky waters right now.
The only way out is to present proof to Fouche of Talleyrand's connection to the attack, and then Bailly can go free and return to his son. However, Fouche is also aware of where Germaine is too and has spies working for him. Spies which include Henriette.
The Episode Review
Alas, the plot thickens! With Henriette working on the side of Fouche, and Germaine having gone on the run, we now see a lot more of Fouche's ruthlessness and competence in his job. He's incredibly adept and has a great eye too. The printing press segment was particularly ingenious, working well to showcase exactly how tough he's going to be to beat here.
Careme is caught in the middle but the scandal involving Charlotte and Charles could yet become a vital bargaining chip going forward, we'll have to wait and see.
For now though, Careme has done well to keep things interesting, although the pacing is a tad slow at parts. While the actual history of this time period has clearly been shaped and changed to fit with the theme of the show, it's still an enjoyable watch, all things considered.
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