Michelin Stars II - Nordic by Nature will feature at the Culinary Zinema: Film and Gastronomy section at the 69th edition of the San Sebastian International Film Festival. Nordic By Nature is a culinary documentary filmed over an 18 month period that follows the endearing and brutal destiny and everyday life of the Faroe Islands and its culinary pearl KOKS, helmed by chef Poul Andrias Ziska. While the COVID-19 pandemic forced people to focus on core values and what was important, for Ziska and the restaurant this was nothing new. The two Michelin starred restaurant is situated in a low ceiling farmhouse with grass on the roof. It is surrounded by luscious green fields surrounded by rolling hills inside the isolated Faroe-archipelagos in the middle of the Nordic seas. It is almost mythological restaurant in hobbit settings that has received international acclaim for embracing the mindset the world now finds itself with. Everything sourced, cooked and enjoyed … [Read more...]
When tomatoes met Wagner premieres at Berlinale
The humorous and uplifting story of two ingenious Greek cousins and five village women, who tackle the world market with their homegrown tomatoes, premieres at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival (7-17 February 2019). The quirky and inspiring tale of how a village used organic farming to overcome the Greek financial crisis, screens at the Berlinale’s popular Culinary Cinema section, which offers food for thought with films about the pleasures and dark sides of food. This year, the 13th Berlinale Kulinarisches Kino under the title "A Taste for Balance" from February 10 to 15, features 10 documentaries and two fiction films about the relationship between food, culture and politics. Top chefs Angela Hartnett, Sebastian Frank, Haya Molcho, Kiko Moya, and The Duc Ngo will serve menus inspired by the films while Yotam Ottolenghi will present his new book. Filmmaker Mariana Economou’s documentary – whose last film, ‘The Longest Run’, was nominated by the European … [Read more...]
‘Jeremiah Tower had to let go for the documentary to work’- Lydia Tenaglia (film director)
Jeremiah Tower’s impact on the gastronomic world, particularly in the United States has been huge for those in the know. But for many, he was just a forgotten figure and most people interested in the food scene today would probably never have heard of the name before. This is because until 2014 he was mostly forgotten because he was on what many viewed as a self-imposed exile. So it must not have been an easy task for Director Lydia Tenaglia and executive producer Anthony Bourdain to get the US chef to reveal his story from his childhood to the years at the legendary Chez Panisse and then Stars while also depicting what happened since he left Stars. When I interviewed director Lydia Tenaglia on her documentary film Jeremiah Tower, the Last Magnificent which will be released in cinemas this week in New York and LA on 21 April after its success at the Tribeca film festival last year, I was curious to how she had managed to convince someone who had disappeared from the limelight to … [Read more...]
Jeremiah Tower: This was the match that started the fire of new American cuisine
Food lovers are in for a treat as Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent, a documentary film depicting the remarkable life of Jeremiah Tower, one of the most controversial and influential figures in the history of American gastronomy is released in the United States in New York and Los Angeles on 21 April. Tower began his career at the renowned Chez Panisse in Berkeley in 1972, becoming a pioneering figure in the emerging California cuisine movement. After leaving Chez Panisse, due in part to a famously contentious relationship with founder Alice Waters, Tower went on to launch his own legendary Stars Restaurant in San Francisco. Stars was an overnight sensation and soon became one of America’s top-grossing U.S. restaurants. After several years, Tower mysteriously walked away from Stars and then disappeared from the scene for nearly two decades, only to resurface in the most unlikely of places: New York City’s fabled but troubled Tavern on the Green. There, he launched a journey … [Read more...]
Alain Passard: My garden saved my life – (Chef’s Table review)
Alain Passard is considered to be an idol by many chefs. Three Michelin star chef of restaurant Arpège in Paris, France, he is mainly known for inventing the vegetable to table movement removing meat from his restaurant and serving a cuisine that is mainly focused on seasonal vegetables. Passard has been working with a mainly vegetarian menu at his restaurant since 2001. Although he decided to be a chef at 14 and says he's never changed his mind, he did realise that he no longer wanted to work with meat. His story is beautifully depicted in the first episode of Chef's Table France, the third season of the successful foodie series just released by Netflix. In this documentary directed by David Gelb, Passard speaks about the influence his grandmother had on him and says he can still hear the whistle of the oven when she was cooking with fire. "Her cooking smelled good, it was generous. She had a delicate sense of cooking. I have her recipes but I have never been able to cook as … [Read more...]
Gaggan Anand: The chef who reinvented Indian food and who thinks India is ready to conquer the world – Chef’s Table Review
Gaggan Anand is the man who has revolutionised Indian cuisine. With his progressive take, he has brought Indian food to the limelight, breaking perceptions and searching deep to reinterpret Indian cuisine by looking for its traditions. The Indian chef, who has set his base in Bangkok, Thailand has made a name for himself with his restaurant Gaggan, voted the best Asian restaurant in the World in 2015 and 2016 and 23rd in this year's World's 50 Best Restaurants list. He was on the brink of disaster at least two times in his career, first when he nearly lost everything when his partner in business ran away and then when riots broke out in Bangkok, just as he was about to open Gaggan. His story is an inspiring one for those who are looking for the secret to success. Gaggan has not only followed his passion but he has done so amid hard work, sacrifices including not being able to go to his brother's funeral and also a persistent goal to be the best Indian chef. This episode in … [Read more...]
‘Memory is really important. It is a vehicle to get to know who you are’ – Dominique Crenn (Chef’s table review)
Memory is a very important part of what Dominique Crenn does at her restaurant Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, California. "Memory is really important. It is a vehicle to get to know who you are inside." Understanding where she has spent most of her childhood has a lot to do with what her restaurant is all about. "It is not about us creating dishes, it is about us connecting everything from start to finish," Dominique Crenn says. The French born chef is the first ever female to earn two Michelin stars in the United States. She did that in two consecutive years from 2011 to 2012 (her restaurant only opened in 2010). David Gelb depicts her story on Chef's Table (Season 2) in an impeccable way as he follows her to Brittany where she connects with her roots. It is yet another unmissable episode of this series which is not just about food and restaurants but also about the story of chefs and how they discovered themselves through food. It shows how chefs use food as a vehicle … [Read more...]
Chef’s table review: ‘I was a punk and I became a chef’ – Alex Atala (D.O.M.)
No one has been more important for Brazilian cuisine than Alex Atala, chef of world renowned restaurant D.O.M. in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Chef's Table episode about this 47-year old Brazilian chef is a must watch for food lovers interested in learning the story of the chef who fought against the odds to make Brazilians love 'Brazilian' cuisine and become Brazil's topmost food ambassador. Cooking Brazilian food did not come naturally though. He recalls a conversation he had with a French chef who told him that he was a good chef who understood flavour but he would never be able to cook French cuisine like a French chef because he did not have the cultural background. "I felt bad. I had a tattoo, i was different. If I was not able to cook French cuisine like a Frenchman, than nobody could do a better Brazilian experience than me so I started to switch gradually to Brazilian ingredients," Atala said. The Brazilian chef's story is an inspiring one. It is incredible to think that he … [Read more...]
Grant Achatz: ‘Alinea – it is a bit of a mind game’ – Chef’s table review
When Grant Achatz came up with the name Alinea, it was because he liked the definition - the beginning of a new train of thought. And that is exactly what he has done a few weeks ago when Alinea 2.0 reopened after months of refurbishment. He was asked why he was ripping apart a restaurant that worked so well. "Why fix something that is not broken? But Alinea is the beginning of a new train of thought. We have to just create a clean slate. Can we eliminate what we have been doing over the past 10 years and start afresh," he says. That is exactly what they are doing. Netflix second season of Chef's Table starts with Grant Achatz. The American chef is known to be one of the most inventive chefs in the business today and one of the many chefs who got 'inspired' by Ferran Adria of el Bulli. Alinea, the restaurant in Chicago does not need any introduction. It has three Michelin stars and has been a permanent fixture in the top places of the 50 World's Best Restaurant lists. The … [Read more...]
A review of Michael Pollan’s documentary series Cooked
Cooked, the new documentary series on Netflix by Michael Pollan which is based on the best-selling book by Pollan is a must watch. It follows the same structure of the book and is based on four episodes looking at cooking through the four elements: fire, water, air and earth. Pollan is not new to food. He is probably one of the most influential writers in the United States on the subject and has made it a mission to get people to learn more about the food we eat. Famous for his book the Omnivore's Dilemma, with Cooked Pollan takes a different approach. He tackles the subject of cooking through the four elements and shows how these have been crucial in shaping the society we know today. But, unlike ever before, we are at risk of losing a lot of our culture and identities by our decision to 'outsource' cooking to corporations. The four documentaries in the series are narrated by Pollan himself and include interviews with the author. He visits different parts of the world to … [Read more...]