'Carême' Review: Apple TV+ Cooks Up a Delicious, Lusty Take on French Culinary History — With a Side of Espionage

Humans share many common denominators, but few of our driving forces hold more power than food. At its best, food denotes stability and comfort. Eating the right dish, made by the right hands, evokes memories of specific people and periods: childhood summers improved by dad's mouth-watering chili and its secret sauce ingredients, for example, or the handwritten gumdrop cookies recipe passed down between generations. Giving food to someone else, be they a loved one or a stranger, is selfless provision; to that end, a meal can look terrible and nourish the soul, because we know the effort matters most. Conversely, totalitarian regimes try to control their populations through starvation. Divorced from either of these extremes, food can also carry cultural significance, represent artistic expression, or be a carefree aphrodisiac, if you’re into that sort of thing.