Sergio Herman’s quest for perfection

Oct 22, 2015, updated Oct 22, 2015

Sergio Herman, Fucking Perfect is preceded by the short film Central Texas Barbecue, a timely insight into the American art of slow-cooking meat over coals which has captured the imaginations of Adelaide chefs and foodies.

Directed by Matthew Salleh, the 14-minute documentary introduces some of the characters behind the culture. It shows how the tradition is entrenched in the Texan way of life, providing much more than flavour and sustenance.

In Willemiek Kluijfhout’s feature documentary Fucking Perfect, Dutch chef Sergio Herman takes the art of food to a cosmic level by comparison. The film has an unfortunate name, but it is appropriate in that it is about one man creating perfection, from his image to the dining experience.

Fucking Perfect shows the artist, the obsession and the sacrifice behind the most beautiful food creations and how, after 13 years running his family’s famous Netherlands restaurant Oud Sluis, an exhausted Herman decides to focus on his wife Ellemieke Vermolen and their four children.

But an artist never stops creating, and Herman soon finds a new project to absorb his energy: a derelict chapel in Antwerp, Belgium. With “The Jane”, Herman goes into overdrive, creating a dining experience that incorporates food, design, history and art like no other and ultimately achieving a level of perfection beyond expectation.

Fucking Perfect is beautiful, but it’s not an easy film to watch – as well as seeing some stunning scenery and exquisite food, and feeling awe over Herman’s genius and determination to follow his dreams, the audience feels his tension and the pain of his dysfunction.

Sergio Herman, Fucking Perfect will screen again tomorrow, October 23, at Palace Nova Eastend as part of the Adelaide Film Festival.