Paper Lantern
A portrait of a Vietnamese-Canadian family opening up a restaurant and cocktail bar in Calgary's Chinatown, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stage: The Culinary Internship follows a group of interns during a nine month apprenticeship at one of the best restaurants in the world, Mugaritz. While the restaurant’s notorious avant-garde cuisine and creative working environment elevates these young hopefuls to think outside the confines of a kitchen, the extremely high standards prove to be mentally and physically exhausting. Ultimately, not everyone can handle the heat.
A portrait of a Vietnamese-Canadian family opening up a restaurant and cocktail bar in Calgary's Chinatown, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
06 Sep 2024
Casa Bonita opened in 1974 in an unassuming strip mall. The massive "Disneyland of Mexican restaurants" is an Old West and Acapulco-inspired fever dream made famous by its indoor waterfall, cliff divers, and haunted caves, and was featured in a classic 2003 episode of South Park. When its creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, learn that Casa Bonita might close its doors for good, they attempt to preserve a crumbling piece of their childhood and Denver history.
19 Jun 1998
In 1995, Chasen's closed its doors after 60 years of serving chili to movie stars and visiting dignitaries, Presidents and the Pope. During its two final weeks, Chasen regulars (actors and producers), staff, and management sat for interviews. There's an Oscar party for 1500, footage and photos of famous diners, and time with Tommy Gallagher, the ebullient head waiter until retirement in 1994, his son Patrick, catering head Raymond Bilbool, general manager Ronnie Clint, hat check girl Val Schwab, ladies' room attendant Onetta Johnson, and foreign- born waiters, including Jaime. When he started in 1970, like other Latins, he wasn't allowed out of the kitchen. It's a family farewell.
19 Nov 2015
A creative journey into the unique mind of René Redzepi, chef and co-owner of Noma, voted best restaurant in the world four times.
11 Jun 2011
Revered sushi chef Jiro Ono strives for perfection in his work, while his eldest son, Yoshikazu, has trouble living up to his father's legacy.
15 Sep 2011
For six months of the year, renowned Spanish chef Ferran Adria closes his restaurant El Bulli -- repeatedly voted the world's best -- and works with his culinary team to prepare the menu for the next season. An elegant, detailed study of food as avant-garde art, EL BULLI: COOKING IN PROGRESS is a rare inside look at some of the world's most innovative and exciting cooking; as Adria himself puts it, "the more bewilderment, the better!"
26 Apr 2017
One of the world's best restaurants, the Copenhagen-based NOMA and its renowned chef-owner René Redzepi relocate the restaurant and its entire staff to Tokyo.
22 Mar 2019
Danish culinary entrepreneur and Noma co-founder Claus Meyer has kickstarted a gastronomic revolution in Bolivia’s capital of La Paz with the opening of Gustu, a fine-dining restaurant and cooking school for the country’s impoverished youth. Kenzo, a hunter raised in the Bolivian Amazon, and Maria Claudia, a native of the Andean altiplano, have resettled in La Paz in order to pursue a career in the culinary arts. Under the tutelage of Meyer, these young Bolivians are working towards a better future as they attempt to establish their country as the world’s next great culinary destination.
27 Dec 2020
Like many businesses, the restaurant industry has been hard hit by COVID-19. This timely film, directed and executive produced by Guy Fieri and Frank Matson, intimately chronicles the impact of the pandemic on the restaurants of four chefs familiar to viewers of The Food Network: Antonia Lofaso, Marcus Samuelsson, Maneet Chauhan, and Christian Petroni. Unfolding as the COVID-19 outbreak sweeps across the US, Restaurant Hustle 2020: All on the Line follows these chefs as they face the reality of shutting down, laying off staff, and finding alternate ways to save their beloved restaurants and industry.
22 May 2019
Two countries, two restaurants, one vision. At Gabriela Cámara's acclaimed Contramar in Mexico City, the welcoming, uniformed waiters are as beloved by diners as the menu featuring fresh, local seafood caught within 24 hours. The entire staff sees themselves as part of an extended family. Meanwhile at Cala in San Francisco, Cámara hires staff from different backgrounds and cultures, including ex-felons and ex-addicts, who view the work as an important opportunity to grow as individuals. A Tale of Two Kitchens explores the ways in which a restaurant can serve as a place of both dignity and community.
20 Aug 2019
In the late 1960s, Haddon Salt built a fast-food empire. Then Kentucky Fried Chicken came knocking.
26 Apr 2018
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
14 Mar 2021
Philoxenia is a short documentary highlighting the synergy between the Greek notion of philoxenia ("friend of the stranger") and Southern hospitality, as expressed through Birmingham, Alabama's Greek-owned restaurants. The film features six local favorite restaurants, two historians and, of course, a lot of mouthwatering dishes.
01 Jan 2007
Chez Schwartz takes us inside a year in the life of Schwartz's Deli - the unique 75-year-old landmark on Montreal's historic Main. Filmed through changing seasons, from the quiet of early morning preparation to the frenetic bustle of packed lunch times and never ending line-ups, to the more relaxed ambiance late at night - Chez Schwartz is an evocative, cinematic portrait of a small spunky deli known worldwide equally for its atmosphere and smoked meat.
18 May 2024
This explores the reality of chefs and cooks as they struggle to create dishes and experiences enjoyed on a daily basis. The restaurant industry is a tough business, not just for profits, but for everyone involved.
19 Dec 2019
In this nostalgic documentary, restaurant critic Giles Coren challenges Heston Blumenthal to take his restaurant The Fat Duck back to 2001 for a magical feast.
22 Sep 2022
This astonishing glimpse into the restaurant world examines sexual harassment concealed within the industry, causing many employees to suffer in silence or leave their jobs rather than confront a celebrity chef or powerful owner who can ruin their career.
01 Jun 1980
Bern, 1980: A caleidoscopic portrait of Swiss urban life in the early 1980s.
05 Feb 2015
Master chef Sergio Herman feels he needs to let go of his 3-star restaurant Oud Sluis in order to fulfill his dreams. A revealing story about perfection, ambition and sacrifices.
01 Jan 2023
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