Dieta Mediterranea Released on 2009 Language Spanish Genre Comedy Directed by Joaquin Oristrell Starring Olivia Molina, Paco Leon, Alfonso Bassave, Carmen Balague, Roberto Alvarez, Jesus Castejon

Director Joaquin Oristrell�s film Dieta Mediterranea (Mediterranean Food) follows in a long line of distinguished food movies. It tells the story of Sofia (Olivia Molina) from her childhood at a small seaside cantina to becoming a famous chef, a journey she accomplishes not just through her passion for food, but also through her passion for the two men in her life: the steady Toni (Paco Leon) and the venturesome Frank (Alfonso Bassave). They both appeal to different aspects of her personality and her ambition, and she is not really prepared to give up either of them. It helps that one is good with accounts, the other a talented maitre d�hotel. It is a situation not without comic potential, but Oristrell seems content to take the easy path and turns Mediterranean Food into a story about how Sophia manages to get her cake and eat it too, as she successfully talks the two men into a menage a trois that has the local community up in arms. Molina gives a spirited performance as Sophia, the girl who wants to make it in the male-dominated world of the restaurant kitchen, but her two male admirers let her down badly, with Paco Leon�s Toni never getting much beyond the comic innocent; though this is somewhat preferable to Alfonso Bassave channeling early Antonio Banderas. The film gets off to a promising start, and there is an interesting idea that lurks�in the background about seemingly incompatible combinations (whether of ingredients or people) turning out to be marriages made in heaven if approached with the right kind of zest for life and all its riches. Sadly, the development of this, or any other theme, rapidly takes a back seat to sex, and the director goes for some easy gags about three-ways and a swelling homoerotic relationship between the two men. The film wants to be bold and sexually daring, but it fritters away any real tension, satisfied to generate some tittering laughter with its sexual high jinks.� Occasionally the film throws up interesting observations about food and the ways it can become part of our lives, but the director does not really know what to do with them, and lets them flop back down with a disappointing thump. The bedroom rather than the kitchen is at the center of the movie, and it doesn�t help that the filmmakers seem to confuse Japanese kaiseki cuisine with the techniques of molecular gastronomy.�Good food movies are all about attention to detail, and the food in this film is never given the same kind of close attention that is lavished on Bassave�s admittedly rather fine buttocks. Oristrell, who did well at the Barcelona Film Festival and picked up a Sundance nomination for Unconscious (2004), a humorous take on the world of psychoanalysis, clearly has intellectual pretensions. They are evident in Mediterranean Food, but here�remain nothing more than pretensions as he gets sidetracked into a lightweight romantic comedy that makes up for the lack of jokes with a smattering of risque situations. As the Dieta Mediterranea movie revolves around the life of a chef, there are a lot of delicious dishes shown in the movie. We have picked one out of many dishes shown in the Dieta Mediterranea movie.

Seared Foie Gras with Caramelized Apples

Ingredients 1� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �Duck Foie Gras 1/4� � � � � � � � � � � � � � cup Butter or Margarine 1/2� � � � � � � � � � � � � � cup Sugar 6� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �Large Apples, peeled, cored, and each cut into 6 wedges 6 to 8 slices� � � � � � � � Coarse Textured Bread, toasted 1/2� � � � � � � � � � � � � � cup Chicken Broth 1/4� � � � � � � � � � � � � � cup Balsamic or Red wine vinegar 200 gms� � � � � � � � � � Mixed Salad Leaves, rinsed, crisped, and torn into bite-size pieces To taste� � � � � � � � � � �Salt� � � Method ? Rinse foie gras; pat dry. Gently pull apart the lobes. Discard any tough membrane. Cut pieces crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick slices; cover and chill. ? Divide butter between 2 nonstick frying pans, 12 to 14 inches wide; melt over medium-high heat. Stir 1/4 cup sugar into each. Lay apples equally in pans. Cook until wedges are browned and soft but still hold their shape, 15 to 20 minutes; turn as needed. ? Set a slice of toast on each dinner plate; arrange apples equally beside toast and place in a 150� oven. ? Quickly rinse and dry frying pans; place over high heat. When hot, fill with a single layer of foie gras; pieces can touch but shouldn�t be crowded. Brown on 1 side, about 30 seconds; turn and brown other side, about 30 seconds more. As slices are browned, quickly put on toast and keep warm. To reduce spattering, pour fat from pan as it accumulates; reserve for other uses. ? Pour all but 3 tablespoons drippings from 1 pan. Add broth and vinegar to pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Pour hot dressing over greens, mix, and mound beside apples and toast. Serve at once, adding salt to taste