Death of Maïté: Eel, ortolan, hamburger… the five cult sequences of the famous cook on television

Maïté is no more. Famous for its generous and authentic cuisine, Maïté will forever remain an icon of French gastronomy on television. Originally from the South-West, she made her first appearances on television in the 1980s after being spotted by director Patrice Bello, who asked her to host the cult show “La cuisine des Mousquetaires” on France 3.

Very quickly, Maïté established itself and made an impression with its traditional and very rich cuisine, and highlighted the good local dishes by not hesitating to bring live animals back into its kitchen, on the film sets, before carve and bleed them for cooking.

During her years on television, whether in “La Cuisine des Mousquetaires” or “À Table”, Marie-Thérèse Ordonez, her real name, stood out as much for her way of cooking as for her way of speaking, particularly to animals, giving rise to cult scenes that stuck with him until the end of his life. Sensitive souls refrain.

1 – How to stun an eel

This is undoubtedly Maïté’s best-known sequence. Before cooking eels, the host and restaurateur must knock them out with her rolling pin, before killing them. “Don’t move, darling,” she said to an eel. “You’ll see, she won’t suffer,” she assures, not knowing that she was talking to a tougher eel than expected. See for yourself…

2 – Tasting ortolan

Another cult sequence, when she indulges in tasting an ortolan, a small bird. This being “burning”, she explains that you should not blow on him but stick it to his cheek, even if it means having a full face of fat. “Thing that we shouldn’t do and which isn’t very pretty, I start to take him and suck his behind,” explains the famous cook, doing so in an… almost sensual way.

3 – Hamburger with gizzard, duck breast and foie gras

Accompanied by Micheline Banzet-Lawton, Maïté prepares a hamburger with gizzard, duck breast and pan-fried foie gras in country bread. After browning the foie gras and the duck breast which are bathed in fat, she adds it to her hamburger. “We don’t remove the fat because it’s good”, “it’s nourishing”… so many phrases which have made this sequence cult, just like when she discovers with disgust that Micheline has brought her a “classic” hamburger, ridiculously small next to his.

4 – “It doesn’t say woodcock here!” »

A phrase that has become legendary from Maïté. The native of Rion-des-Landes (Landes) has not only distinguished herself in cooking shows, but also in advertisements in which she also knew how to stand out. This was the case in this famous advertisement for a brand of laundry detergent which has remained in the memory, in particular thanks to its sentence: “There is no word woodcock here! »

5 – The fish that tries to escape

Ready to cut up a fish supposed to be dead, Maïté sees its tail rise, before the animal spins on its work surface and almost falls to the ground, under the gaze of Micheline, Maïté and an assistant. the show, all three of which are on the verge of laughter.

If these five sequences are undoubtedly among the most unforgettable, others like the debate between Micheline and Maïté on the virility of the rooster, the carving of the wild boar, Maïté’s diatribe with a calf’s head, knife in hand, would also have deserved to have their place among the most memorable sequences.