Documentary Follows Alain Ducasse on a Quest for Perfection

The filmmaker Gilles de Maistre spent two years trailing Alain Ducasse, the restaurateur and chef, whose global empire has been awarded 19 Michelin stars. The resulting documentary, “The Quest of Alain Ducasse,” looks at Mr. Ducasse’s far-flung enterprises as he visits and fine-tunes them with an eye toward perfection. The opening of his restaurant Ore, at the Château de Versailles, is front and center. The chef is shown constantly tasting in segments that will send a frisson of delight to foodie-voyeurs. There’s an arresting sequence of extracting caviar from sturgeon in China and some fairly banal chitchat with François Hollande, France’s former president. Although Mr. Ducasse’s personal life is described as “secretive,” this valentine could have used more about the influence of his roots in the Landes region of southwest France, who his mentors were in the culinary world, and a word from his contemporaries: “The Quest of Alain Ducasse” directed by Gilles de Maistre, Magnolia Pictures, in French with subtitles, starting Friday at Quad Cinema and On Demand.

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