Let them eat cake: ‘Kings of Pastry’ screens at The Norfolk Library

The Norfolk Library will screen the acclaimed documentary “Kings of Pastry” on Friday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. The film will be introduced by its producer, Salisbury resident Flora Lazar, who will also take part in a Q&A following the screening.

Directed by legendary documentarians D.A. Pennebaker (“Don’t Look Back,” “Monterey Pop”) and Chris Hegedus (“The War Room”), “Kings of Pastry” offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the prestigious Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (Best Craftsmen of France) competition, a prestigious national award recognizing mastery across dozens of trades, from pastry to high technology. Pennebaker, who attended The Salisbury School, was a pioneer of cinéma vérité and received an honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement.

Established in 1924 and overseen by the French Ministry of Labor, the competition challenges professionals to create a “masterpiece” that demonstrates skill, precision and artistry. Winners receive a lifelong title and medal, presented at a ceremony in Paris attended by the president of France.

In this documentary, 16 pastry chefs spend three grueling days in Lyon crafting delicate chocolates, towering sugar sculptures and exquisite pastries, all in pursuit of perfection — and the honor of being recognized by then-President Nicolas Sarkozy, as one of France’s best craftsmen. The filmmakers were granted exclusive access to capture this intense, emotional and visually stunning event.

Producer Flora Lazar came to filmmaking via an unexpected route. Trained as a historian and psychotherapist, she has had a lifelong love of French pastry, a passion she eventually pursued through formal training at a pastry school in Chicago.

“It was run like a military operation,” she recalled of the school. “You could eat off the floor. Everything had to be meticulous, precise.”

Lazar’s father, a first-generation Harvard graduate who grew up in the Borscht Belt, pushed his children toward high achievements in academia and “looked down on the trades,” Lazar admitted. “I loved French pastry my whole life,” she said. “But my dad wasn’t going to send me to pastry school.”

After her father’s passing — with her children grown and financial responsibilities eased — Lazar finally returned to that early passion.

At the pastry school in Chicago, Lazar met two chefs, one who had won and one competing for the Meilleurs Ouvriers title. Lazar set out to write an article about the competition and what it could mean for American education and industry.

Lazar, who knew Pennebaker and Hegedus from her years in New York, invited them to Chicago to meet the chefs. That meeting sparked the idea of “Kings of Pastry,” which was born.

For Lazar, though, the meaning has always been personal.

“The purpose of the film wasn’t just to show the high level of craftsmanship in French pastry but to illuminate a larger political, economic and educational issue.”

The screening will also serve as a promotion for the Norfolk Historical Society’s 11th Annual Cake Auction, to be held Dec. 6 at 5:30 p.m. Historical Society president Barry Webber will give a brief introduction to the auction before the film.

And yes, there will be cake.

Register for the event at norfolklibrary.org/events/documentary-
film-kings-of-pastry.