KQED Food Blog: Bay Area Bites: Chateau Cooking, DaVinci Style
Bay Area Bites: culinary rants & raves from bay area foodies and professionals
Previous Posts
Local S%*!t Happens
Take 5 with Richard Wong
A Day without Food Blogs
Double Cha-Ya
Poulet du Printemps et Tajine d'Agneau
Unbearable Lightness of Bean
How to take all the fun out of food
Chew on This, Eric Schlosser & Charles Wilson
Knife Skills Class 101
Eat Local, Near and Far
 
 
BAB Guidelines

'Bay Area Bites' is part of KQED's Blog Authors Collaborative. Blog contributors and commentators are solely responsible for their content. If you're interested in writing or contributing to a blog on kqed.org, email us with your idea.
 
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Chateau Cooking, DaVinci Style
The DaVinci Code Movie
Place de la Concorde metro station in Paris

For those of you who have spent the past three years living with an indigenous tribe in sub-Saharan Africa, you might not have heard of The DaVinci Code. For the other four billion plus of us, we have been inundated with Code media the likes of which have no doubt already seared their iconic status in future business school marketing classes.

The DaVinci Code Movie
Place de la Concorde metro station, before

The French who loathe anything splashy or frivolous (or garrulously American) actually redesigned the Concorde metro station a la DaVinci Code going so far as to repaint, yes repaint!, the station red! Considering they wouldn't so much as clean the metro stations when the Olympic bid committee came to town, this is quite a statement. So what does the DaVinci Code have to do with cooking, you ask? More than you might think, at least for this little cook.

The DaVinci Code Movie
Looking out to the gates from the chateau entrance

You might remember me mentioning now and again a certain swanky chateau that I cooked at last summer? Well it was none other than the chateau featured in The DaVinci Code! Located about an hour northwest of Paris, the chateau is rented out to families for vacation, to ad agencies for photo shoots and commercials and yes, to movie studios for movies.

The DaVinci Code Movie
Movie production trailers lined one side of the property

As it turns out, Dan Brown's wife stumbled upon the chateau and decided to use it in their unassuming little murder mystery... Who knew...?! The main character in the novel, Sophie Neveu played by Audrey Tautou, was named after a woman that lived in the chateau in the late 1700s, Sophie de Grouchy, who married the Marquis de Condorcet in the chateau's chapel. The best man at their wedding was none other than General Lafayette! Once again, who knew...?!

The DaVinci Code Movie
Plaque in the chateau chapel

At the chateau, I cooked for families that rented it for vacation and to call my schedule greuling would be an understatement, making cooking school seem like a walk in the proverbial park. I was up and in town by 7am getting fresh croissants and bread piping hot out of the oven from the local boulanger, then back to set the tables, prepare the fruit, and get the coffee going. Once breakfast was over, I started preparing lunch. After lunch wrapped up around 2 or 3pm, I'd head backing to town to purchase food for dinner.

The DaVinci Code Movie
The chateau lit up and ready to go for the night filming

Once I returned to the chateau, I was frantically chopping, searing, roasting, boiling and more often than not burning until dinner. By the time dinner was prepared, served and cleaned up it was 10 or 11pm and then it was upstairs to plan the next days' meals and food shopping list. On a good day, I'd collapse in bed around 1am and do it all over again 6 hours later.

The DaVinci Code Movie
The helicopter about to take aerial shots of the chateau

I was also there during the filming of the DaVinci Code movie and it was nothing short of breathtaking to see a blockbuster production kick into action. 300 people, 30-plus trailers, 1 helicopter and a week of filming all for just a few minutes of actual movie footage. How they created the lighting, the misty night air, the duplicate set of gates, the fog was stunning.

The DaVinci Code Movie
Fake gates built over the real ones! They look identical down to the peeling paint.

The scene where Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) and Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou) drove up to Teabing's chateau and spoke into the intercom garnered about 20 seconds of airtime but took no less than three hours to film as they had to film it at five different camera angles and each camera required up to five takes. The cool part of seeing the movie was having sat right behind the director while it was being filmed.

The DaVinci Code Movie
Sitting behind the director just before they yell out "Roulant!" (Rolling!)

There were three armoured cars, two Silas the Monk stunt doubles (a rather eerie site), and gallons upon gallons of coffee so everyone could stay awake. Since the action at the chateau took place at night they naturally had to film at night so set up began around 7pm and filming start at 11pm and ran til sun up. I'm not sure exactly what time everyone cleared out as I was usually asleep by 3am. There is just so many times you can watch someone repeat the same five lines into a fake intercom, even if it is the charming, gracious and very funny Tom Hanks....

Tom Hanks on The DaVinci Code movie set around 2am
Tom Hanks on the set of The DaVinci Code
 
 

4 Comments:

Blogger Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic said...

What a fabulous, if totally exhausting, experience! So, what sorts of things did Tom Hanks like to eat from your kitchen?

Hee: Sophie de Grouchy? Is she by any chance related to Oscar?

5/22/2006 1:52 PM

 
Blogger Dianka said...

This is absolutely fascinating! I am so jealous! I'm so happy for you and your experiences, how unforgettable. Great pictures.

5/22/2006 2:25 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Quelle Chance ! J'adore cette histoire ainsi que les photos.

5/24/2006 9:59 AM

 
Blogger cucina testa rossa said...

thanks steph! sophie isn't but a few other people at the chateau could easily be! sadly tom didn't eat his meals from my kitchen as he didn't arrive until late in the evening. for the crew, there was an enormous tent and 3 catering trailers and the amount of food they cranked out of those tiny spaces was astonishing and delicious. I was in the kitchen testing recipes that week so they would all pop in and taste test but my uber-tart lemon curd seemed to be the favorite. I'll post the recipe and more food pics from the chateau this week in part 2.

dianka ~ thank you, it was amazing to be there!

anon ~ merci beaucoup! c'etait vraiment formidable!

5/24/2006 2:01 PM

 

Post a Comment

<< Home

Locate CP Restaurants:
Check, Please! Google Map
 
KQED Food Sites
Check, Please! Bay Area
Jacques Pépin Celebrates!
Jacques Pépin:
Fast Food My Way
Jacques Pépin:
The Apprentice
Jacques Pépin:
The Complete Pépin
KQED Wine Club
KQED.org Cooking
Weir Cooking in the City
 
Tasty Food Sites
CHOW
Chowhound SF
Crushpad
CUESA
CulinaryCorps
Eat Local Challenge
Edible San Francisco
Epicurious
eGullet.org
Food Network
Food Talk
Group Recipes
Hungry Magazine
KTEH Food
Leite's Culinaria
Locavores
Mighty Foods
NPR: Food
Om Organics
Serious Eats
SFGate: Food
SFGate: Wine
SF Station: Restaurants
Slow Food SF
Top Chef
Wikimedia Commons: Food & Drink
Yahoo! Food
Yelp: Reviews
 
Tangy Food Blogs
101 Cookbooks
A Full Belly
Accidental Hedonist
agoodfoodblog
An Obsession with Food
Anna's Cool Finds
Becks & Posh
Between Meals
Blogsoop
Bunny Foot
Butter Pig
Cellar Rat
Chez Pim
Chocolate & Zucchini
Confessions of a
Restaurant Whore
Cooking For Engineers
Cooking with Amy
Cucina Testa Rossa
Culinary Muse
Denise's Kitchen
Digesty-SF
Eater SF
Eggbeater
Extramsg.com
Feed & Supply
Food Blog S'cool
Food Musings
Food Porn Watch
Gastronomie
Hedonia
I'm Mad and I Eat
In Praise of Sardines
Jatbar
Knife's Edge
Life Begins at 30
Love and Cooking
MeatHenge
Mental Masala
Moveable Feast
Nosheteria
Organic Day
Passionate Eater
San Francisco Gourmet
SF City Eats
Simply Recipes
Spicetart
The Amateur Gourmet
Tablehopper
The Ethicurean
The Food Section
The Grub Report
The Petite Pig
The Wine Makers Wife
Vin Divine
Vinography
VirgoBlue
Wandering Spoon
Well Fed Network
Word Eater
World on a Plate
Yummy Chow
 
 
   
Search BAB

Eye Candy: Food Photos
BAB on flickr.com
Join Flickr for free and share your photos with the Bay Area Bites and Beyond group pool.
 
Food Books
 
The Moosewood Cookbook
by Mollie Katzen
 
Baking: From My Home to Yours
by Dorie Greenspan
 
Grand Livre de Cuisine: Alain Ducasse's Desserts and Pastries
by Alain Ducasse, Frederic Robertmison
 
The Big Book of Outdoor Cooking and Entertaining
by Cheryl Alters Jamison, Bill Jamison
 
Tasty: Get Great Food on the Table Every Day
by Roy Finamore
 
Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way
by Lorna Sass
 
The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa
by Marcus Samuelsson
 
Michael Mina: The Cookbook
by Michael Mina, Photographer: Karl Petzktle
 
What to Eat
by Marion Nestle
 
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
by Michael Pollan
 
Essence of Chocolate: Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate
by John Scharffenberger, Robert Steinberg
 
Romancing the Vine: Life, Love, and Transformation in the Vineyards of Barolo
by Alan Tardi
 
What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea -- Even Water -- Based on Expert Advice from America's Best Sommeliers
by Andrew Dornenburg, Karen Page, Michael Sofronski
 
The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook: Stories and Recipes for Southerners and Would-be Southerners
by Matt Lee, Ted Lee
 
Bread Matters: The State of Modern Bread and a Definitive Guide to Baking Your Own
by Andrew Whitley
 
Coloring the Seasons: A Cook's Guide
by Allegra McEvedy
 
All-new Complete Cooking Light Cookbook
by Anne C. Cain
 
Modern Garde Manger
by Robert B. Garlough
 
The Spice and Herb Bible
by Ian Hemphill, Kate Hemphill
 
The Improvisational Cook
by Sally Schneider
 
Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children
by Ann Cooper, Lisa M. Holmes
 
Cradle of Flavor: Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia
by James Oseland
 
My Life in France
by Julia Child, Alex Prud'Homme
 
A Passion for Ice Cream: 95 Recipes for Fabulous Desserts
by Emily Luchett, Sheri Giblin (photographer)
 
Au Pied De Cochon -- The Album
by Martin Picard
 
Memories of Philippine Kitchens
by Amy Besa, Romy Dorotan
 
Simple Chinese Cooking
by Kylie Kwong
 
 
An Invitation to Indian Cooking
by Madhur Jaffrey
 
Hungry Planet
by Peter Menzel, Faith D'Aluisio
 
Sunday Suppers at Lucques : Seasonal Recipes from Market to Table
by Suzanne Goin, Teri Gelber
 
Simple Soirees: Seasonal Menus for Sensational Dinner Parties
by Peggy Knickerbocker, Christopher Hirsheimer (Photographer)
 
The Cook's Book
by Jill Norman
 
Molto Italiano : 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home
by Mario Batali
 
Nobu Now
by Nobuyuki Matsuhisa
 
Cheese : A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best
by Max Mccalman, David Gibbons
 
Bones : Recipes, History, and Lore
by Jennifer McLagan
 
Whiskey : The Definitive World Guide
by Michael Jackson
 
The New American Cooking
by Joan Nathan
 
ChocolateChocolate
by Lisa Yockelson
 
Easy Entertaining: Everything You Need to Know About Having Parties at Home
by Darina Allen
 
Cooking at De Gustibus: Celebrating 25 Years of Culinary Innovation
by Arlene Feltman Sailhac
 
Dough: Simple Contemporary Breads
by Richard Bertinet
 
Chocolate Obsession: Confections and Treats to Create and Savor
by Michael Recchiuti, Fran Gage, Maren Caruso
 
The Food Substitutions Bible: More Than 5,000 Substitutions for Ingredients, Equipment And Techniques
by David Joachim
 
Recipes: A Collection for the Modern Cook
by Susan Spungen
 
Spices of Life: Simple and Delicious Recipes for Great Health
by Nina Simonds
 
Mangoes & Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontinent
by Jeffrey Alford, Naomi Duguid
 
Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light
by Mort Rosenblum
 
Vegetable Love: A Book for Cooks
by Barbara Kafka, Christopher Styler
 
A History of Wine in America: From Prohibition to the Present
by Thomas Pinney
 
Fonda San Miguel: Thirty Years Of Food And Art
by Tom Gilliland, Miguel Ravago, Virginia B. Wood
 
Matzoh Ball Gumbo: Culinary Tales of the Jewish South
by Marcie Cohen Ferris
 
Washoku: Recipes From The Japanese Home Kitchen
by Elizabeth Andoh, Leigh Beisch
 
 
Weir Cooking in the City: More than 125 Recipes and Inspiring Ideas for Relaxed Entertaining
by Joanne Weir
 
Rick Stein's Complete Seafood
by Rick Stein
 
The Great Scandinavian Baking Book
by Beatrice A. Ojakangas
 
Serena, Food & Stories: Feeding Friends Every Hour of the Day
by Serena Bass
 
John Ash: Cooking One on One: Private Lessons in Simple, Contemporary Food from a Master Teacher
by John Ash
 
The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook: Eating Well for Better Health
by Donald Hensrud, M.D., Jennifer Nelson, R.D. & Mayo Clinic Staff
 
Foods of the Americas: Native Recipes and Traditions
by Fernando and Marlene Divina
 
The Provence Cookbook
by Patricia Wells
 
Olive Trees and Honey: A Treasury of Vegetarian Recipes from Jewish Communities Around the World
by Gil Marks
 
Last Chance to Eat: The Fate of Taste in a Fast Food World
by Gina Mallet
 
Bouchon
by Thomas Keller
 
A Blessing of Bread: The Many Rich Traditions of Jewish Bread Baking Around the World
by Maggie Glezer
 
All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking
by Molly Stevens
 
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
by Harold McGee
 
Entertaining: Inspired Menus For Cooking with Family and Friends
by George Dolese
 
The Breath of a Wok: Unlocking the Spirit of Chinese Wok Cooking Through Recipes and Lore
by Grace Young, Alan Richardson
 
Cooking New American: How to Cook the Food You Love to Eat
by Fine Cooking Magazine
 
The Japanese Kitchen: A Book of Essential Ingredients with 200 Authentic Recipes
by Kimiko Barber
 
Arthur Schwartz's New York City Food: An Opinionated History and More Than 100 Legendary Recipes
by Arthur Schwartz
 
Poet of the Appetites: The Lives and Loves of M.F.K. Fisher
by Joan Reardon
 
Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes
by Jeffrey Hamelman
 
Everyday Dining with Wine
by Andrea Immer
 
 
Copyright © 2005-2008 KQED. All rights reserved.