Act-IV returns to Buxton Fringe to champion an unsung hero of the Victoria era.
Oui Chef! tells the story of Alexis Benoist Soyer, a name unfamiliar to most but whose legacy continues to this day.
His extraordinary culinary ability propelled him to the highest epicurean fame and his passion drove him across Europe from royal courts to war zones. Every cause he took up was pursued with his singular blend of skill, determination, invention and flair for the dramatic.
Oui Chef! follows “his zig-zag journey, changing the lives of everyone he touches, from the barricades of the Second French Revolution to the rarified circles of high society; through the slums of London, to the glitz of the Great Exhibition; and from the devastation of the Irish potato famine to the horrors of the Crimea”.
Act-IV will put forward its case that this remarkable man should be heralded as “not only the first but also the greatest celebrity chef in history”.
Oui Chef! will be performed in the Old Hall Hotel on Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday, 12, 13, 16 and 17 July at 4PM.