This film is part of Free
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_480x270/public/hero-images/beceae7ebc5a6f3951da0b9ed89776da.jpg?itok=Jmeu81sK)
A Party Dish by X. Marcel Boulestin
Guests to impress? Celebrity chef Marcel Boulestin out a quick veal escalope with the aid of a shiny new gas cooker.
Overview
Think of party food, and escalope of veal with boiled cucumber and cream sauce followed by Spanish omelette may not immediately spring to mind. But in the 1930s top chef Marcel Boulestin was on a mission to inspire Britain's home cooks, and to persuade them that fancy food needn't be a chore - thanks to the trusty new gas cooker. This was one of several gas industry-sponsored films directed by British documentary pioneer Arthur Elton, most famous of which was Housing Problems (1935, co-directed by Edgar Anstey).
Born in Poitiers, France, Xavier Marcel Boulestin moved to London in 1906, and played a key role in popularising French cuisine in Britain. His eponymous restaurant, reputed to be the most expensive in London, opened in 1927, followed by a stream of cookery books which made him an early celebrity chef. He made a second film promoting the gas cooker, A Scratch Meal with Marcel Boulestin (1936), also directed by Arthur Elton.
Related
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/096bbe2891cd1a39836e39c2774afa73.jpg?itok=dqrfEaz5)
Herrings Herrings
Public Information Filler 1940 7 mins
This informative herring aid from WWII makes no bones about the need to make the most of every fish
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/afd821511dca0caded986925db2274dc.jpg?itok=XPEE-PnM)
Black Country Food Black Country Food
News 1972 5 mins Location: Wednesbury
Tasting the plain, good 'fittle' of the Black Country - just remember to pull the hairs out of those pork scratchings.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/4731c1adefad42c5a42b81464d7dda80_0.jpg?itok=lqm9xGgi)
Indian Sweets Indian Sweets
News 1979 4 mins Location: Moseley
A new type of shop appears on the high street: Indian sweets have arrived in Birmingham.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Ut_HKthATH4eww8X4xMDoxOjAwMTt5zx_2_6.jpg?itok=tgOBZjld)
Chinese Restaurants Chinese Restaurants
Non-Fiction 1965 7 mins Location: Birmingham
From the House of Liang Nam to the Kam Ling Bamboo Rooms: the pioneers who made the long journey from Hong Kong to bring Chinese food to Birmingham.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/640e6a4397b80c2d453d42c09956a3ad.jpg?itok=HBmNS-9Z)
Boxing Day Boxing Day
Cookery show 1973 27 mins
Dorothy Sleightholme, Yorkshire's answer to Fanny Cradock, makes a meal of turkey leftovers in this seasonal offering from the Farmhouse Kitchen.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Cheese%2520Making%2520at%2520Home%252C%2520cropped.jpg?itok=RGezweOD)
Cheese Making at Home Cheese Making at Home
Non-Fiction 1918 4 mins Silent
Handy hints for would-be fromagers
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Shoot-Your-Shot-02.jpg?itok=KREdlpBS)
Shoot Your Shot Shoot Your Shot
Drama 2022 12 mins
An emotional stand-off takes flight, as teen best friends Ronit and Brennan come to terms with navigating that fuzzy feeling in their stomachs, all whilst learning to skateboard.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/%25E2%2580%258ELook-Like-You-02.jpeg?itok=2R3w9luT)
Look Like You Look Like You
Drama 2022 13 mins
While visiting the adoptive family of her eight-year-old biological son, Tara relays advice she gathered from growing up as a queer outcast.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Yellow-04.jpg?itok=Bt5NDkC8)
Yellow Yellow
Drama 2023 13 mins
In Taliban controlled Afghanistan, Laili walks into a Chadari store in Kabul to buy her first full body veil from a Talib shopkeeper and face a new future.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/NEHEMICH-02.jpg?itok=ba9fjUy4)
Nehemich Nehemich
Drama 2023 23 mins
Banished in a dilapidated village hut during her menstruation, a young girl waits to elope with her lover.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/1717526943-default-ovp-poster-image.jpg?itok=Fk8VLsGa)
Interview with Pam Cullen Interview with Pam Cullen
Inside Film 2020 53 mins
Interview with Pam Cullen who at 97 boasts an incredible career spanning over fifty years in the Indian film industry.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/muscleqanda.jpg?itok=8sw22r7R)
Muscle - Exclusive Q&A Muscle - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 34 mins
Director Gerard Johnson talks Nia Child through the making of Muscle, an adrenalized drama that tears into the stereotypes of masculinity and male friendship.