If you’re looking for a historical series that’s set in a country other than England, then I invite you to watch Netflix’s The Cook of Castamar (2021).
Set in Madrid in 1720 during the reign of King Philip V, the series tells the story of the family of Duke Diego of Castamar (Roberto Enríquez), a widower that can’t get over the loss of his beloved wife Alba, who died two years back in a horse-riding accident. He stays with his mother Doña Mercedes and his adopted brother Gabriel in the palace of Castamar and works in the Royal Court.
The King insists on the Duke – his confidante- to throw a party in his Castamar palace that he’d attend personally with the Queen to mark the end of the Duke’s long mourning period. Invitations are sent to the aristocrats of Madrid and that’s when other key characters of the series appear such as Amelia Castro (María Hervás) — the orphan of a bankrupted aristocrat who’s regarded as the perfect match for the Duke — and Marquis Enrique de Arcona, a close friend of Doña Mercedes and a scandalmonger who uses his knowledge of the aristocrat’s affairs for his own benefit.
The party is a huge event for the Castamar residence and hence the viewers are invited to leave the aristocrats and join the staff that are preparing for it — mainly the kitchen staff where the heroine of the story Clara Belmonte (Michelle Jenner) works as a newly hired cook. Clara had lost her father in the war and since that time she’s been suffering from Agoraphobia that makes her confined to the kitchen. Her path crosses with the humble duke’s and a romance starts between the two.
However, social status and circumstances keep separating and joining them throughout the ten episodes. Will the duke sacrifice everything for the sake of Clara? What I enjoyed most about the series is the attention to details that could be seen from set to costume designs. Moreover, to match the title given to the series, each episode demonstrates a dish or a recipe that comes from that period and what people recovering from different ailments ate or drank. The characters — especially the servants of Castamar — are likable and easy to relate to. You’d even feel sympathy at times for the aristocrats — despite their continuous intrigue and scandalous love affairs — when their backstories are revealed throughout the episodes.
The characters of King Philip V and his wife Queen Isabel de Farnesio were the most interesting in the series. King Philip suffered from deep melancholia that deemed him manic and neurotic most of the time, which made Queen Isabel the de facto ruler of Spain who managed state affairs with her husband’s approval. The actors playing the roles of the King and the Queen depicted them brilliantly, especially their unstable relationship fueled by tension and mistrust from the King’s side.
The Cook of Castamar is based on a novel by the same name written by Fernando J. Muñez. The outdoor shots of the palace of Castamar is the Palacio del Infante Don Luis — the youngest son of King Philip V — that was built in the west of Madrid between the years 1763 and 1765 (which is more than 40 years after the series’ events). The series was nominated in a few Spanish television award ceremonies in the category of miniseries and won Best Leading Actor (Roberto Enríquez) and Best Supporting Actress (María Hervás). The Cook of Castamar is entertaining and every episode ends with a cliffhanger that makes you want to know what happens next. Recommended for history lovers and cooking shows enthusiasts.
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