The meal is not merely a culinary event but a Eucharistic liturgy that facilitates a "general amnesty".
Babette, a French refugee and former chef de cuisine at the Café Anglais, arrives as an "other" who represents the sensuous and the Catholic. For 14 years, she lives as an unpaid servant, "emptying" herself into the mundane tasks of the village, much like a Christ-figure taking on the form of a servant. Her ultimate act is the creation of a "real French dinner," funded by a lottery win of 10,000 francs—her entire fortune. The Feast as a Sacrament of Grace Babette's Feast
Six reasons to watch Babette's Feast (differently). | by Wies Sanders The meal is not merely a culinary event