Marie-Antoine Carême, considered by many to be the father of French haute cuisine, is perhaps most famous for his sweets — he perfected the soufflé, invented the croquembouche and may have developed the modern wedding cake.

But was Carême as racy as he appears in the Apple TV+ series that drops on Wednesday? On the show, the master chef — who was born in 1784, died in 1833 and was known as Antonin Carême — is seen sharpening knives, seducing multiple women and selling secrets during the turbulence of Napoleonic France.

“Carême is, singularly, the most important individual figure in the birth of modern gastronomy,” said Ian Kelly, whose biography of the chef is the basis of the series. (A new edition is being released in the United States on May 27 as “Carême: The First Celebrity Chef.”)

Benjamin Voisin, left, plays Carême in the new TV show.Credit…Apple TV+

Here’s a primer on Carême, who wrote cookbooks, served kings, defined pastry as an edible form of architecture and is widely seen to be one of the world’s first celebrity chefs.

Carême in the Kitchen

Carême is best known for his towering pastries — known as extraordinaires — which could be shaped into giant harps or fountains. Some, like the croquembouche, rose several feet high.