Food in the 21st century has become much more than “meat and potatoes” and canned soup casseroles.” Chefs have gained celebrity status; recipes and exotic ingredients, once impossible to find, are now just a mouse click away; and the country's major cities are better known for their gastronomy than their art galleries. This food movement can be traced back to one man: James Beard. His name graces the highest culinary honor in the American food world today—the James Beard Foundation Awards. And while chefs all around the country aspire to win a James Beard Award, often referred to as the “culinary Oscars,” many of those same chefs know very little about the man behind the medal. Respected restaurateur Drew Nieporent summed it up when he said, “Everybody knows the name James Beard. They may not know who he is, but they know the name.”
When asked to make a documentary about her friend’s mother—a Parisian astrologer named Juliane—the filmmaker sets off for Montmartre with a Bolex to craft a portrait of an infectiously exuberant personality and the pre-war apartment she’s called home for 50 years.
Soul explores the secrets of gastronomy where two cuisines apparently so opposite in their philosophy, conception and experience, have both earned the highest culinary recognition, three Michelin stars.
A committed, passionate teacher tries to make all the difference in the lives of disadvantaged students.
Every great cook secretly believes in the power of food. Alice Waters just believes this more than anybody else. She is certain that we are what we eat, and she has made it her mission in life to make sure that people eat beautifully. Waters is creating a food revolution, even if she has to do it one meal at a time.
Documentary wants to be a call to recognize and enhance the best gastronomic-tourist tradition of our coast, the espeto, personified in its master of ceremonies, Manolín Gallardo.
Food writer and critic William Sitwell investigates the passions, pressures and obsessions behind that apparently all-important description, ‘Michelin-starred chef’. ‘It elevates your average stove monkey to superior cheffy status; it puts you in a completely new culinary class. But how relevant is Michelin? Do we want poncey food? Or can you get a Michelin star for a good steak and chips? Is the Michelin Guide harmful in its influence? And does the path to Michelin-starred perfection lead to dangerous obsession?’
The collar awarded to the winners of the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Craftsman in France) is more than the ultimate recognition for every pastry chef - it is a dream and an obsession. The 3-day competition includes everything from delicate chocolates to precarious six foot sugar sculptures and requires that the chefs have extraordinary skill, nerves of steel and luck. The film follows Jacquy Pfeiffer, founder of The French Pastry School in Chicago, as he returns to France to compete against 15 of France's leading pastry chefs. The filmmakers were given first time/exclusive access to this high-stakes drama of passion, sacrifice, disappointment and joy in the quest to have President Sarkozy declare them one of the best in France.
Two elderly sisters share the delicate art of making traditional Hungarian strudel and reveal a deeply personal family story about their mother, who taught them everything they know.
The diaspora of millions of Italian emigrants marked a strong nutritional influence of this nation on the American continent. The documentary collects the similarities and differences between the dishes adapted to the American taste and his native Italy.
In restaurant kitchens, tight quarters, high pressure and hot tempers combine to create toxic conditions that make it difficult for anyone to survive, let alone climb the ladder to head chef. For women, the situation is even worse. Running a successful restaurant is a daunting challenge, even more so when the odds are stacked against you. But as women take charge at more of the world's top dining establishments, a cultural shift is dismantling the macho environment that made celebrities out of "bad boy" chefs. From New York City's star chefs Anita Lo and Amanda Cohen to the queen of French cuisine Anne-Sophie Pic, seven chefs share their struggles to overcome a system of inequality and harassment while delivering delicious dishes and redefining the dining experience. An appetite for change has taken hold and there's no turning back
Founded in 1930, Troisgros has held three Michelin stars for 55 years. The children of the fourth generation, Marie-Pierre and Michel's sons are continuing the family business: César runs the Michelin-starred restaurant, "Le Bois sans feuilles" ("The Leafless Wood"), and Léo is in charge of one of the other two Troisgros restaurants, "La Colline du colombier" ("The Dovecote Hill"). From the daily market to the cheese maturing cellars, via the vineyard, the cattle farm and the vegetable garden adjacent to the restaurant, Menus-Plaisirs is an intimate, sensory journey through the kitchens of one of the world's most prestigious restaurants.
Affectionately known as claquos or calendos, Camembert is one of France's favorite cheeses. Almost 500 million Camemberts are sold in France every year. While this historic monument to French gastronomy retains its artisanal image, the reality is very different. From AOP to made-in-Normandy to 100% Norman milk, confusion reigns from market stalls to supermarket shelves. The "real" Camembert de Normandie, with its PDO label, accounts for less than 5% of sales. Investigate one of the jewels in the crown of French cheeseboards.
A creative journey into the unique mind of René Redzepi, chef and co-owner of Noma, voted best restaurant in the world four times.
The film talks about dough dishes from different regions of Ukraine through stories of Ukrainians who, in their own way, preserve the traditions of Ukrainian cuisine, develop, study and modernize it.
Through the unrelenting winter in the north of Japan, a small group of workers must brave unusual working conditions to bring to life a 2,000-year-old tradition known as sake. A cinematic documentary, The Birth of Sake is a visually immersive experience of an almost-secret world in which large sacrifices must be made for the survival of a time-honored brew.
In the wake of "Mondovino", this film offers new research on the world of cheese, through a work of investigation and discovery in various parts of France, but also Italy and the United States. It highlights two clashing worlds: on one side the taste of defenders and diversity, the other multinational companies, supermarkets and proponents of food globalization. The "stinky cheese" has become an iconic element in the debate on the French exception, globalization, industrial food and the environment.
Concerned about the declining health of people all around them, Native American women are sparking physical and spiritual rejuvenation through reclaiming traditional foodways.
Somm takes the viewer on a humorous, emotional and illuminating look into the mysterious world of the Court of Master Sommeliers and their massively intimidating Master Sommelier Exam.
Drama, controversy, and hilarity abound as uniquely talented and passionate pizza makers battle it out as they attempt to go for the gold against their international counterparts. Their quest is followed while exploring the pizza industry. The amazing and highly competitive world of acrobatic pizza-dough tossing is examined as competitors vie for spots on the U.S. Pizza Team and the chance to compete for the gold medal at the World Pizza Championship in Italy where teams perform choreographed dough-tossing routines to music while being scored by a panel of judges.