The Cook of Castamar

We thoroughly enjoyed this miniseries, the setting, the actors and the story were rocksolid. We felt like the ending was rushed and left many loose ends. This seems to be a pattern with Netflix. It would be worthwhile to spend the extra episode to end a series with high-quality.

The plot keeps one entirely engaged. The setting is beautiful. The customs are historically accurate. The food scenes are to die for. The music is exquisite. The directing is very well conceived. The acting is perfect for this kind of historic melodrama. The behavior in the film is in keeping with the nature of this aristocratic world. Congratulations to all who made this possible to be seen on Netflix! A strong recommendation for those who appreciate quality historical melodramas. (Rating 9/10)

There's no reason to get long-winded about it. It was worth every minute spent watching. I wish the 12 episodes were 30. The only thing you can call disappointing is a rather rushed ending to a truly compelling watch.

Addictive series with beautiful costumes and production value, a compelling central love story, generally strong acting, and food! The cooking scenes with the voiceovers are reminiscent of "Like Water For Chocolate."

I loved the main actress playing Clara. She's very good at the "slow simmer," the passionate woman beneath the serene surface. The romantic male lead is a little less impressive. He's a stalwart, honorable aristocrat with a soft side, but spends a little too much time looking pained and pensive. No matter, they have good chemistry.

There is a lot happening with intrigue and side characters, sometimes too much. The Duke's adoptive brother, Gabriel, is charming but his side plot with Amelia is not fully baked (sorry). The mother is superb and most of the servant characters are well played and endearing.

My biggest issue with the series is the ending. It is rushed and too much is left unexplained. It's not entirely unsatisfying, but it could have been so much better. It feels like they ran out of time and had to write/film it really quickly or something?

Anyway, worth watching. And it was fun practicing my Spanish.

A lovely spanish series that ticked all of the boxes. The characters were well cast and well acted, the leads had good chemistry. The storylines were well developed and just the right amount of too much. Costuming was very well done throughout.