Eclairs, croquenbouches, and chocolate mousse might taste like heavenly French desserts, but for 16 of France’s top pastry chefs, they are instruments of near torture. The country’s highest culinary honour, the Meilleur Ouvrier, is awarded once every four years and is every pâtissier’s dream. Hopefuls face three days of back-breaking competition, creating round after round of fanciful, often gravity-defying confections while a team of meticulous judges times, inspects, and samples every morsel. In his signature vérité style, D.A. Pennebaker and longtime collaborator Chris Hegedus transcend the pretense of so many reality cooking series to scrumptiously showcase the skills of masters at their best.

Direct Cinema: The Films of D.A. Pennebaker: Pay tribute to late verité master D.A. Pennebaker with five must-see films that defined the documentary giant’s ground-breaking career—and brought us inside pivotal moments in the history of music, politics and counterculture.