Hiya!
I recently got to re-watch The Menu because one of my friends said she hadn’t seen it yet. So, I did tag along while she opened up Disney+ and viewed this spectacular film. While this is my 3rd time watching The Menu, I did realize there were a few things which I didn’t notice during the first couple of times I saw it. I’ve already dissected the crimes of almost all of the people who went to Hawthorne’s to enjoy what was, unbeknownst to them, their final meal prepared by celebrity chef Chef Slowik.
These “crimes” the patron’s committed were fairly obvious as it’s kind of spelled out by Chef Slowik (played by Ralph Fiennes) as the meal runs its course. What I didn’t really consider, however, was how the staff of Hawthorne’s are equally, or even more so, guilty of some of the same “crimes” the patron’s have committed. Oh, sure they imprisoned people against their will, burned them to a crisp in an adorable chocolate and marshmallow vest and committed essentially ritualistic suicide. They did all that but they’ve done quite a bit more than just that.
So, let me break down what are the other “crimes” the Hawthorn’s staff committed in The Menu.
Sous Chef Jeremy (the person behind The Mess)
Jeremy, one of Hawthorne’s Sous-Chef, created The Mess, a course of pressure cooked vegetables, roasted fillet, potato confit, beef jus and bone marrow. However, to fully understand the dish, Jeremy has to blow his brains out before consuming the dish. It’s just the way the dish is composed.
Chef Slowik does introduce Jeremy and tells his story. He recalls how Jeremy trained in culinary school and wanted to study under him to improve his craft. However, after possibly years to trying in get better, Jeremy has reached his limit. Not only is he burnt out from the pressure of having to strive for perfection, he has realized he just doesn’t have the natural talent nor skill of a Chef Slowik. As such, Jeremy feels his life has been wasted as “he’ll never be great” to a level such as Chef Slowik. This heavily factors into his decision to develop The Mess and end his life as he’ll never achieve his dream of being a great chef.
Jeremy’s “crime” is, simply put, not being able to accept and being okay with your limitations. He’ll probably never be a celebrity chef of great renown. Is that such a terrible thing, though? Not everyone can be the best in their craft but you can still be more than good enough to be better than most. Unfortunately for Jeremy, that’s just not good enough for him. If he just left Hawthorne’s and joined another high-class restaurant, he probably could’ve made something of himself. Instead, he decided his brains splattered all over a tarp with some herbs were all that was left for him.
Sous Chef Katherine (the person behind Man’s Folly… and killing everyone)
Katherine developed Man’s Folly, which is a very weird course, to be honest. It has all of the male guests running in the forest while the Hawthorne staff tries to hunt them down to just return them back to the restaurant. While this is happening, Katherine serves the female diners a foamy dish of crab, yogurt whey, dried kelp, sea lettuce and umeboshi.
Man’s Folly is weird because the food really feels secondary here as the point of the course is to show how abusive Chef Slowik has become and how he feels sorry for his actions. Katherine explains how Chef Slowik tried to force her to have sex with him several times and, when she denied his advances, the celebrity chef did not talk to her for 8 months. That’s some passive-aggressive crap right there!
While it’s totally understandable why Katherine reveled in stabbing Chef Slowik in the thigh for revenge, she does play a small part in the abuse for not really doing anything about it. Instead of waiting to get fired like she assumed was going to happen, Katherine could’ve quit altogether and even report the abuse to the public. She didn’t have to stay and eat the punishment dealt to her. It may seem harsh to blame the victim for her inaction but, in this day of age, women should not put up with it at the same time.
Maitre’d Elsa
The Maitre’d of Hawthorne’s, Elsa (played by Hong Chau), may come off as a small and timid woman on the surface. However, underneath all of that is a strong woman willing to prove herself to Chef Slowik. Throughout the film, Elsa gets more and more jealous of Margot, Anya Taylor-Joy’s character, as Chef Slowik seems to rely on her more and more. Near the end, when Chef Slowik sends Margot to get a barrel in the smokehouse, Elsa goes after her, accusing the escort of trying to replace her. This leads to the two fighting, forcing Margot to kill Elsa in self-defense.
Like pretty much all of the cooks and the staff at Hawthorne’s, Elsa behaves like she’s in a cult. Like with most cult members, Elsa is devoted to the leader, Chef Slowik, to an unhealthy degree. This has her taking her job too seriously as the maitre’d of Hawthorne’s. She has no life beyond the restaurant and no wants and needs besides making sure Chef Slowik can focus on the menu. Her life is out of balance as her life has been consumed by running the restaurant and nothing else. As she has no life outside the restaurant, Elsa’s “crime” is her utter devotion to serving others and not giving herself any time to focus on herself.
Chef Slowik
Finally, we get to Chef Slowik. Played deliciously (pun intended) by Ralph Fiennes, Chef Slowik is a man who is at the top of his game. He’s a well-respected chef in the culinary world and he demands perfection in everything. This does eventually wear him down as, during the movie, he and his entire staff cracks and they all conspire to get revenge on the higher ups who they’ve been trying to please.
This might be the most obvious “crime” in The Menu as it’s so obvious how Chef Slowik does not cook with love anymore. Heck, Margot even spells it out for him by the end when she orders the climactic cheeseburger as she realizes Chef Slowik was much happier when he was just a carefree line cook slinging burgers instead of what he’s become.
However, there is another “crime” Chef Slowik has committed and, in his eyes, it’s probably the worst one, even when he compares it to the patrons he wants to kill. Chef Slowik knows he’s become one of the very people he despises. He’s become not only obsessed with cooking the greatest meals but also become an abusive person who demands too much from others. He’s just chasing the praise and adulation of others. He’s become one of the elites he hates.
Okay, I might be thinking too much into The Menu and I might be seeing deeper meanings into these profiles. Then again, maybe I can pick up a few more things when I watch it for a 4th time!
Byee!
What other “crimes” did you spot in The Menu? Let me know in the comments section below!
3rd World Geeks 
Margot was a substitution. She was not Tyler’s original date. There are no substitution at Hawthorne. Margot didn’t belong.