Cooking Up Murder: Discovering the story of César Román is a three-part docuseries depicting the gruesome 2018 murder of Heidi Paz and the conviction of acclaimed chef César Román for the murder. Through news footage, reenactments and interviews, the series’ filmmakers attempt to build an image of Román, who rose to fame in 2016 as the “King of Cachopo” when a contest judged his version of the Asturian comfort dish as the best. in Spain. The series includes a video interview that Román did with him from prison, where he is serving a 15-year sentence for Paz’s murder, although he still maintains his innocence..
COOKING MURDER: DISCOVERING THE STORY OF CÉSAR ROMTONORTH: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Initial shot: A prison door opens and we see a recreation of a man being taken out of a cell by correctional officers.
The essence: The story goes back and forth between 2018, when the dismembered torso covered in white powder was found in a suitcase under a staircase in a building in Madrid, and 2016, when Román became famous for his cachopo. Román was a short but very confident man, and claimed that he had done everything from being in the army to carrying out top-secret espionage.
His restaurant empire grew exponentially after the attention he received for his cachopo, but it wasn’t long before he stopped paying employees and suppliers, and the restaurants closed in quick succession. At the same time he was dating Paz, a waitress at one of his restaurants. After she disappeared and her torso was found, police did not tell Paz’s mother that she could be the one found, leaving her confused and in a distraught limbo. Meanwhile, Román disappeared from public life, disguising himself and getting a job cooking in a restaurant in Zaragoza.
What shows will it remind you of? Due to the deception involved, Cooking murder has many elements of Bad vegan.
Our opinion: Of many ways, Cooking murder It’s a pretty straightforward true crime docuseries; lays out the case and the people involved and talks to the principals, including the person convicted of the murder. It’s not entirely linear, but the time period it examines (Román’s rise to fame in 2016 via Paz’s murder in 2018 and Román’s arrest and trial) is so short that back-and-forth is impossible. It’s not that annoying.
What the producers of Cooking murder What I’ve done a good job of is showing how intricate the story Roman constructed for himself really is. They have several actors playing him in reenactments, along with small painted figures that represent the different aspects of his life that Román has discussed. In the first episode, they tend to judge whether the things he says are believable or not. At this point, they are more interested in building the story of how this previously unknown chef became so famous in such a short time.
As usual, the victim, Heidi Paz, should receive as much or more attention than Román, especially since we see him speculate that his dark side caught up with her while she was involved in a cocaine bust shortly before her disappearance. . It is assumed that she was eliminated by cartel guys, not by Román. But by allowing her to freely express her opinion about what happened to her, the filmmakers are doing Paz and her mother a disservice.
Sex and skin: None.
Parting Shot: Román says, “When Little Red Riding Hood tells the story, the wolf is the bad guy,” before starting to talk about what he thinks led to Paz’s death.
Sleeping star: The sleeping star is the cachopo, period.
Most pilot line: The multiple actors playing Román in the reenactments were a smart touch. So much so that the figurines probably weren’t necessary.
Our call: TRANSMIT IT. Cooking Up Murder: Discovering the story of César Román is a straightforward docuseries about a celebrity chef who was at least a skilled fabulist and con artist, but is also a convicted murderer.
Joel Keller@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and technology, but make no mistake: he’s a couch potato. His writings have appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.comFast Company and other places.
