Wilson Chapman editor In his Toronto International Film Festival premiere “The Menu,” Ralph Fiennes plays Slowik, a celebrity chef who runs an exclusive restaurant that caters to the ultra-rich.
And while the darkly comic horror film eventually reveals some macabre twists regarding what’s on Slowik’s menu, Fiennes says he got into the character via more mundane inspirations. “One of the great pleasures was watching ‘Chef’s Table’ on Netflix” Fiennes said at the Variety Studio presented by King’s Hawaiian at TIFF, referring to the documentary series about international chefs. “I love that series, every single character, every single chef is so brilliantly portrayed.
They’re all so different. So that was very rewarding.” Fiennes was joined at the Variety Studio by director Mark Mylod to discuss the horror comedy.
The two revealed that during production, Mylod brought on Dominique Crenn, a three star Michelin chef, for Fiennes to observe on set and inform his portrayal of Slowik. “Not so much cooking, because I’m the master chef, I don’t actually cook until one moment towards the end,” Fiennes said. “It’s more the behavior in the kitchen.
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