There is more chemistry than cooking. In fact, in the original title in English (Lessons of chemistry) there is no trace of that reference to cooking that appears in the Spanish version of this series that has been available for a few days on Apple TV. But, with that warning, the truth is that the cooking show Dinner at Six is one of the pillars of this story that, based on one of the most internationally successful novels of 2022, now hits the screens with a recipe for the most appealing: the 50s, television, chemistry, a love story, cooking and feminism at a time when that topic was neither present nor expected.
But Supper at Six was never broadcast, nor was Elizabeth Zott a television star. A shame, because the strength of the character, and her ability to stand up and put the male characters who seem taken from the Mad Men outtakes in their place, make you wish that everything had been real.
The fact is that this kind of predecessor of Julia Child - it is impossible to avoid the comparison - is a fictional character who seduced millions of readers who turned the novel Chemistry Lessons by Bonnie Garmus into a bestseller. Apple Original has been in charge of the adaptation into an eight-episode miniseries that will be available on this streaming platform over the coming weeks.
Brie Larson (Oscar for best actress in 2016 for The Room) plays Elizabeth Zott, a chemist who breaks the feminine stereotypes of her time to the dismay of her bosses and the incomprehension of her colleagues. The role of women in that society and, especially of housewives, is key, although the demand for the social rights of black people also plays a role in the plot.
“Food is the catalyst that activates our brain, that unites families and determines our future,” explains this scientist turned chef from her beautiful and colorful television kitchen and in front of the cameras - in black and white, of course. Although the book and the series begin with a brushstroke about this life change, the truth is that she has to wait quite a few chapters until that part begins to take shape.
It is true that Zott is capable of dissecting a perfect lasagna based on chemical reactions - if Santi Santamaría would listen to him - but this is not a series from which to expect the publication of a recipe book.
Or maybe yes, marketing designs are sometimes inscrutable and, as they say, it will be the audience who decides whether or not they are interested in that more culinary aspect that has encouraged us to watch the series. The truth is that some appetite does come in when you see the faces of the lucky ones who try the meat pies, sweets, or the oysters that he makes in front of the cameras.
It is not easy to tell something without falling into spoilers of the book or the series that we have already been able to see in its entirety, so we will tiptoe over the details of this story that, with comings and goings in time, tries to capture with a certain rhythm the most 450 pages of the novel. He does it well, although it feels like some of the more acidic humor found on the pages falls by the wayside.
But beyond the dishes she prepares, what really interests us here is to see how the cuisine that she describes as pure science and chemistry also becomes the channel of a revolutionary message for the time. Sorority, labor rights, harassment, conciliation... We are in the 50s, but some of the complaints are still sadly relevant today.
There are men explaining things to me all the time. The quote may not be literal, but Zott comments something like that at some point in the series. Indeed, he could be any woman's tweet today. That has surely been one of the keys to the success of the novel and that now we want to validate it on the screen.
“Your ability to change everything, including your life, starts here,” she tells the millions of housewives on the other side of the television and who for the first time – as one of them explains – someone has made them feel capable.
Empowerment. That is the key in this story. But not the kind that is sold in courses that are advertised on Instagram, but the kind that has to do with justice and collective rights and that, in this case, also takes the form of a cooking show.
The script even sneaks into the script some union nod and questioning of economic liberalism that, if it had actually existed, Elizabeth Zott would possibly have cost her a call from Senator McCarthy and his friends.
In addition to the recurring reference to Child, we have surprised ourselves in some chapters thinking about Arguiñano and his current political and economic comments while he has been chopping onions and cooking in front of the cameras for years.
As his neighbor reminds Zott another time, having a speaker on television is a great power, and you have to use it. And yes, we assume it: thinking about a chef as a reference while watching a series that deals with women also puts us in the mirror. And it links perfectly with how current this story from many decades ago is.
Did we expect more cooking? The truth is that if. It is difficult at times to get into the story, the good guys are very good, the bad guys almost as stupid as they are detestable, the textbook family dramas and the message is sometimes too obvious. But the protagonist, the setting and the story make up a simple, rich and substantial dish.
So, as Zott would say, kids, set the table that starts Supper at Six.
