The elderly and pious Protestant sisters Martine and Philippa live in a small village on the remote western coast of Jutland in 19th-century Denmark. One day, Babette, a refugee fleeing the counter-revolution in Paris appears at their door. Babette offers to work for free and serves as their cook for the next 14 years.
One day, Babette wins the lottery of 10,000 francs. Instead of using the money to return to Paris, she decides to spend it preparing a delicious dinner for the sisters and their dwindling congregation of white-haired believers. The sisters and the other members of the austere sect begin to worry that the meal will become a sin of sensual luxury. Fearful of some form of devilry at play, they all agree to make no mention of the food during the dinner and forgo speaking of any pleasure in it.
