Writer/director Gabriel Axel's Oscar-winning film is set in 19th-century Denmark. Babette (Stéphane Audran), a chef and refugee from France's civil war, finds herself in a remote Danish hamlet working for two sisters who preside over its inhabitants. The sisters were brought up under the strict regime of their devout father who preached salvation through self-denial and have kept his teachings going even after his death. But Babette's arrival is set to change the status quo when she cooks a sumptuous meal for the sisters and their friends.