A new documentary titled How to Feed a Dictator offers a chilling look into the lives of personal chefs who served some of history's most brutal dictators, from Idi Amin to Saddam Hussein. The film, which premiered at the Tribeca film festival, explores the moral complexities and survival instincts of these cooks, who prepared meals under constant threat.
The Chefs and Their Dictators
The documentary features five chefs, each with a unique story. Keo Samoun, former cook for Cambodian dictator Pol Pot, still regards him almost as a god, laying out food at his gravesite. Ermanno Furlanis, a pizzaiolo, recalls the terror of making pizzas for Kim Jong-il, with olives spaced precisely under surveillance. Charles Otonde Odera, who worked for Idi Amin, describes his initial luxury—driving a Mercedes and supporting eight wives—before realizing the horror of his boss's brutality.
Moral Dilemmas and Survival
Odera recounts being ordered to cook a human heart, with Amin claiming it prevented haunting. He also faced a death sentence after Amin's child had a stomach ache. The film pairs images of animal butchery with state-sanctioned violence, making for uneasy viewing. Director Andrew Neel notes that the chefs often justified their roles as "a great gig," a logic that enables complicity.
For Pol Pot's chef, Samoun, the dissonance is profound. She cannot reconcile the man who arranged her marriage with the architect of genocide. When a translator challenged her, she broke down, saying, "Even though he made mistakes, it couldn't all be bad."
Loyalty and Denial
Coco Pacheco, chef to Augusto Pinochet, remains unwavering in his devotion, keeping Pinochet's cap under glass and toasting him. He dismisses the tens of thousands killed as "that's life." Saddam Hussein's chef, appearing as a black silhouette for safety, calls him "the father of Iraq" and likens his execution to a family death.
The film underscores how dictators rely on ordinary people to sustain their regimes. Neel considered including Donald Trump's chef, but the chef disappeared after Trump's election, likely fearing for his job. "He probably had a great gig," Neel says.
How to Feed a Dictator is seeking distribution after its Tribeca premiere.
