Just like he had made the short sketch COUSIN BEN TROOP SCREENING (2012) as a promotional companion piece to his feature MOONRISE KINGDOM, director Wes Anderson followed the release of his 2014 film THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL with a short tie-in distributed via the Internet.  Titled HOW TO MAKE COURTESAN AU CHOCOLAT, the short is a relatively simple recipe video that teaches the audience to make the fanciful eponymous pastry that’s prominently featured in the feature.  

Anderson splices in relevant shots from THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL to supplement his characteristically-framed bird’s eye perspective of hands making the dish.  Judging by the quality of the new footage, it appears that Anderson shot the baking sequences digitally.  The match between video and film isn’t perfect, but Anderson closes the gap with characteristic flourishes like jump cuts, eccentric title treatments and a baroque music track reminiscent of Alexandre Desplat’s score for THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL.  All in all, HOW TO MAKE COURTESAN AU CHOCOLAT is a brief, enjoyable piece of promotion that not only takes the audience deeper into the world of THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, but encourages them to become an active participant in it.

HOW TO MAKE COURTESAN AU CHOCOLAT is currently available via the Youtube embed above.