Movistar Plus+ and 3Cat have started filming “¡Quemo!” (“Cremo!” in Catalan), a six-episode series inspired by the experiences Maria Nicolau recounts in her 2024 memoir. Produced by Morena Films and DeAPlaneta Fiction, the show is a comedy-drama starring Ángela Cervantes as the Catalan cook and writer. Georgina Amorós plays Joana, the daughter of a Michelin-starred chef, while Eric Masip appears as an ambitious aspiring chef. The supporting cast includes Carmen Balagué, Carlota Olcina, Sandra Monclús, David Bagés and Pablo Molinero.
Directed by Menna Fité, whose credits include “Merlí” and “Las invisibles,” the series follows Nicolau from her early efforts to become a respected chef to a return to her roots and a rediscovery of her passion for traditional cooking. The production companies say the story also reflects the precariousness she experienced in the profession and the challenge of raising her daughter alone, which led her to leave fine-dining restaurants in search of a more manageable work-life balance.
Nicolau said the adaptation does not reproduce the book’s events exactly, but captures its energy and emotional impact. She described the project as an account of a working cook’s life, rather than the familiar story of a chef pursuing Michelin stars, and said she was pleased that this experience was being brought to the screen.
The memoir grew out of Nicolau’s career in professional kitchens in Spain during the 2000s, a period the book sets against the country’s gastronomic revolution. The series is scheduled to film in various locations in Catalonia through the end of 2026, with a premiere planned for the second half of 2027.
Sources: El País Portada.