🎬 Here It All Begins – Ferdinand’s Confession: The Truth That Breaks the Silence

The atmosphere at the Auguste Armand Institute is heavy, almost suffocating. Glances are exchanged in the corridors; everyone senses that something serious is brewing. For several days, a secret has hung over the kitchens, a lie woven long ago that threatens to burst. At the heart of this storm is Ferdinand, a man once thought to be strong and unflappable, but who carries within him a burden far heavier than he cares to admit.

It all begins with a simple incident. A casual conversation between Clotilde and Rose takes a turn for the worse when a detail from the past is brought up: a management error, a memory from that time, a name Ferdinand seems intent on erasing from his mind. This name belongs to a former student who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The Armand sisters, troubled by this coincidence, decide to investigate in silence. But the deeper they dig, the more inconsistencies emerge.

Ferdinand, meanwhile, is becoming increasingly agitated. His outbursts of anger are frequent, as are his absences. Even Teyssier, usually impassive, notices this change in his attitude. The Institute’s iconic leader quickly realizes that a tragedy is brewing. But this time, it’s not a simple clash of egos or a betrayal of love: it’s a truth buried for years that threatens to shatter everything.

The turning point comes during an impromptu dinner at the Double A. While the students are celebrating the success of an exceptional menu, Ferdinand arrives, visibly drunk. His words get ahead of his thoughts, his gaze clouds. In a heavy silence, he utters a sentence that chills the room: “What I’ve done, I can never undo…” A murmur ripples through the room. Clotilde immediately understands that this is not just a figure of speech.

The next day, rumors swept through the Institute. It was all anyone talked about. Ferdinand tried to avoid the questions. He steered clear of Clotilde, dodged Teyssier, and took refuge in the kitchens as if to hide from the world. But the past refused to die. A document found in the archives by Antoine Myriel turned everything upside down: an internship report signed by Ferdinand, dated the day of the former student’s disappearance.

Summoned by management, Ferdinand has no way out. His face is ashen, his voice trembling. In front of Clotilde, Rose, and Teyssier, he finally breaks down. The silence before his confession is as heavy as a thunderstorm. And then, the words come out. Harsh. Searing. Irreversible.

Ferdinand tells all. The accident, the argument, the fear. This student, whom he both admired and dreaded, had discovered cheating in a cooking competition, a mistake Ferdinand had made to impress Auguste Armand. Panicked, he had tried to stop the young man from revealing everything. A jostle, a wrong move, and everything had spiraled out of control. The student had fallen, seriously injuring himself. Instead of calling for help, Ferdinand had fled, convinced that silence was the only way out.

Clotilde is devastated. For her, Ferdinand wasn’t just a colleague: he was a friend, a confidant. Hearing him confess to such an act, after so many years of lies, shatters her. Teyssier, for his part, remains outwardly impassive, but his eyes betray a cold anger. “You lied to everyone, Ferdinand. And you thought it would never come out?” he says, his tone cutting.

The consequences are immediate. The Institute is torn apart between those who believe Ferdinand deserves a second chance and those who demand his immediate expulsion. Antoine, true to his values, tries to maintain a semblance of calm. But the tension is so high that even the students are divided. Some refuse to work under a man capable of such a secret. Others, more empathetic, see him as a man consumed by guilt.

Ferdinand, broken, leaves his post before management even makes an official decision. In a final, poignant scene, he enters the kitchen one last time. The stoves are off, the dining room bathed in golden light. He stops at his worktop, caressing the utensils with melancholic tenderness. Then he sets aside his chef’s jacket, a symbol of everything he was and everything he has lost.

Before leaving, he left Clotilde a letter. A raw, unvarnished confession in which he recounted not only the tragedy, but also the weight of shame that had consumed him all those years. He admitted his fear of losing everything, his love for cooking, and his cowardice, too. Clotilde read these lines with silent tears. In his words, she recognized the man she had known, but also the man he could have been if he had had the courage to tell the truth sooner.

The episode ends on a bitter note. In Auguste Armand’s office, Clotilde, Teyssier, and Antoine examine the portrait of the Institute’s founder. Each seems to grasp the fragility of this institution they strive to protect, an institution built on ambition, secrets, and human failings. The truth, this time, has come out. But at what cost?

Ferdinand disappears without a trace. Some whisper that he has gone abroad, others that he has retired to a monastery. No one really knows. Only Clotilde clings, deep down, to a faint hope: that he might one day find peace.