The Menu is a larger-than-life story about a chef who is fed up with his high-profile clientele. While the movie might seem completely fictional, there are a few nods to some real-life figures in the food world in the film.
What is ‘The Menu’ about?
The Menu debuted in 2022. It stars Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, and John Leguizamo. The movie follows a couple (Taylor-Joy and Hoult) who travel to an island for a dinner at a highly exclusive restaurant, run by famous chef Julian Slowik (Fiennes).
As the movie progresses, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems at the restaurant. Slowik shares that everyone invited was part of the reason he lost his passion for cooking. And he plans to make them pay.
Critics call ‘The Menu’ ‘brilliant and intricate’
The Menu is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Many critics have praised the underrated movie...
What is ‘The Menu’ about?
The Menu debuted in 2022. It stars Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, and John Leguizamo. The movie follows a couple (Taylor-Joy and Hoult) who travel to an island for a dinner at a highly exclusive restaurant, run by famous chef Julian Slowik (Fiennes).
As the movie progresses, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems at the restaurant. Slowik shares that everyone invited was part of the reason he lost his passion for cooking. And he plans to make them pay.
Critics call ‘The Menu’ ‘brilliant and intricate’
The Menu is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Many critics have praised the underrated movie...
- 2/7/2023
- by India McCarty
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Ruth Reichl has so much to tell us about food. She’s been a chef, a restaurant owner, and a critic. She’s edited Gourmet magazine, written bestselling memoirs and cookbooks, and hosted a show on gastronomy. And now, she wants to teach us about the failings of the American food system itself.
“Food and Country” begins in March 2020; Reichl’s impetus is the pandemic onset that ruthlessly exposes the shaky foundations beneath most restaurants. Serving as producer behind the scenes and on-camera interviewer, Reichl Zooms with chefs, restaurateurs, farmers and ranchers across the country, beginning with her longtime friend and farm-to-table pioneer Alice Waters.
But her ambitions are far greater, which is both the movie’s boldest asset and eventual undoing. Director Laura Gabbert (“City of Gold”) tries to cover all of Reichl’s interests, which leaves her with (at least) five movies’ worth of material. We touch on,...
“Food and Country” begins in March 2020; Reichl’s impetus is the pandemic onset that ruthlessly exposes the shaky foundations beneath most restaurants. Serving as producer behind the scenes and on-camera interviewer, Reichl Zooms with chefs, restaurateurs, farmers and ranchers across the country, beginning with her longtime friend and farm-to-table pioneer Alice Waters.
But her ambitions are far greater, which is both the movie’s boldest asset and eventual undoing. Director Laura Gabbert (“City of Gold”) tries to cover all of Reichl’s interests, which leaves her with (at least) five movies’ worth of material. We touch on,...
- 1/24/2023
- by Elizabeth Weitzman
- The Wrap
Warning: This article contains significant spoilers for “The Menu”
Like the final dish in a multi-course meal, the end of a movie can either leave a bad taste in your mouth or send you home feeling nice and full.
“The Menu,” which stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult as a couple that dines at the mercy of a world-renowned chef (Ralph Fiennes), combines both structures: the film unfolds over the length of a single day, each painstakingly-prepared course signaling a new chapter in the story.
Though the guest list is exactly what you’d expect of a private island restaurant that charges more than a thousand bucks per head, the same cannot be said of the meal. With each dish, Chef Slowik lifts a cloche on a new condemnation of the privileged sycophants who have come to feast on his food. What begins as a mockery quickly devolves into a series of violent spectacles,...
Like the final dish in a multi-course meal, the end of a movie can either leave a bad taste in your mouth or send you home feeling nice and full.
“The Menu,” which stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult as a couple that dines at the mercy of a world-renowned chef (Ralph Fiennes), combines both structures: the film unfolds over the length of a single day, each painstakingly-prepared course signaling a new chapter in the story.
Though the guest list is exactly what you’d expect of a private island restaurant that charges more than a thousand bucks per head, the same cannot be said of the meal. With each dish, Chef Slowik lifts a cloche on a new condemnation of the privileged sycophants who have come to feast on his food. What begins as a mockery quickly devolves into a series of violent spectacles,...
- 11/19/2022
- by Harper Lambert
- The Wrap
Rebecca Halpern’s latest documentary “Love, Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie” examines iconic Chicago chef Charlie Trotter, who developed micro-greens and helped make vegetarianism mainstream. The chef, who died in 2013, was also known for his cookbooks, which featured groundbreaking food photography, which earned him the title “godfather of food porn.” Trotter’s first namesake restaurant, located in a Lincoln Park townhouse on Chicago’s North Side, opened its doors in 1987 and remained a famed establishment for 25 years. While considered a trailblazing chef whose restaurants helped transform American fine dining, Trotter was also known for his temper and controlling behavior.
“He was the puppeteer,” Grant Achatz, a chef who worked for Trotter and went on to open his own restaurants says in the film. “He figured out a way to get what he wanted from all of us.”
In the first few moments of Halpern’s docu, Trotter states,...
“He was the puppeteer,” Grant Achatz, a chef who worked for Trotter and went on to open his own restaurants says in the film. “He figured out a way to get what he wanted from all of us.”
In the first few moments of Halpern’s docu, Trotter states,...
- 11/19/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
A new crop of prestige titles plant a flag at the arthouse in limited release this weekend from Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All to Jerzy Skolimowski’s Eo, to Elegance Bratton’s The Inspection. Greenwich Entertainment opens doc Love, Charlie: The Rise And Fall Of Charlie Trotter IFC Films presents Bad Axe and Cohen Media Group is taking a swing at Fernando Trueba’s Memories Of My Father.
A host of other specialty releases are holding over even as She Said from Universal Pictures and The Menu from Searchlight Pictures open wide. Juggernaut Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is in week two. It’s getting crowded here. Sony Pictures Classics just said it will push a November 25 release date for The Son back to Jan., citing “a marketplace that appears to be getting more overcrowded daily.” (It’s keeping the Nov. date for a one-week only qualifying run.)
But that...
A host of other specialty releases are holding over even as She Said from Universal Pictures and The Menu from Searchlight Pictures open wide. Juggernaut Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is in week two. It’s getting crowded here. Sony Pictures Classics just said it will push a November 25 release date for The Son back to Jan., citing “a marketplace that appears to be getting more overcrowded daily.” (It’s keeping the Nov. date for a one-week only qualifying run.)
But that...
- 11/18/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Groundbreaking Chicago chef Charlie Trotter didn’t invent abusive behavior, but his star cameo at the height of his culinary fame, in the 1997 Julia Roberts comedy “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” certainly helped normalize it. In the scene — referenced twice in Rebecca Halpern’s documentary about him, “Love, Charlie” — the bespectacled Trotter, overseeing a frantic kitchen and hoping to please Roberts’ star restaurant critic, barks at a cook, “I will kill your whole family if you don’t get this right! I need this perfect!”
We don’t learn if he ad-libbed this line (that would have been a telling detail), but judging from the life story Halpern has to tell, it encapsulates what he was ultimately known for: drive, dedication to high standards and not always the best behavioral instincts. Trotter — who died in 2013, one year after he’d closed his legendary eponymous restaurant at the 25-year mark — proves more...
We don’t learn if he ad-libbed this line (that would have been a telling detail), but judging from the life story Halpern has to tell, it encapsulates what he was ultimately known for: drive, dedication to high standards and not always the best behavioral instincts. Trotter — who died in 2013, one year after he’d closed his legendary eponymous restaurant at the 25-year mark — proves more...
- 11/18/2022
- by Robert Abele
- The Wrap
Rebecca Halpern on Chef Charlie Trotter: “He loved very challenging films like Fitzcarraldo by Werner Herzog. And he loved books by people like Ayn Rand, which are not that popular frankly.” Photo: courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment
Rebecca Halpern’s revealing and savoury Love, Charlie: The Rise And Fall Of Chef Charlie Trotter features on-camera in-person interviews with Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Lagasse, Grant Achatz, Norman Van Aken, Carrie Nahabedian, Rick Bayless, Della Gossett, Michelle Gayer, David LeFevre, Guillermo Tellez, Reggie Watkins, Rahm Emanuel, Gordon Sinclair, Art Smith, farmer Lee Jones, and Trotter’s ex-wife Lisa Ehrlich.
Rebecca is also the producer of Danny Lee’s Who is Stan Smith?, executive produced by LeBron James.
Rebecca Halpern with Anne-Katrin Titze on Charlie Trotter’s: “His vegetarian dishes were beautiful and multi-layered and nuanced and remarkable.”
I spoke with Chef Mauro Colagreco (featured in Vérane Frédiani and Franck Ribière’s...
Rebecca Halpern’s revealing and savoury Love, Charlie: The Rise And Fall Of Chef Charlie Trotter features on-camera in-person interviews with Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Lagasse, Grant Achatz, Norman Van Aken, Carrie Nahabedian, Rick Bayless, Della Gossett, Michelle Gayer, David LeFevre, Guillermo Tellez, Reggie Watkins, Rahm Emanuel, Gordon Sinclair, Art Smith, farmer Lee Jones, and Trotter’s ex-wife Lisa Ehrlich.
Rebecca is also the producer of Danny Lee’s Who is Stan Smith?, executive produced by LeBron James.
Rebecca Halpern with Anne-Katrin Titze on Charlie Trotter’s: “His vegetarian dishes were beautiful and multi-layered and nuanced and remarkable.”
I spoke with Chef Mauro Colagreco (featured in Vérane Frédiani and Franck Ribière’s...
- 11/17/2022
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Greenwich Entertainment Acquires Na Rights To ‘Love, Charlie,’ Doc On “Bad Boy” Chef Charlie Trotter
Exclusive: Before Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsey there was Charlie Trotter, the O.G. of bad boy chefs.
The late culinary master, who earned Michelin stars at his restaurants in Chicago and Las Vegas, is the subject of Rebecca Halpern’s debut documentary Love, Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter. Greenwich Entertainment announced today it has acquired North American rights to the film, with plans to release it in theaters later this year.
Trotter authored or co-authored 14 cookbooks, hosted a PBS cooking show and even earned a humanitarian of the year award from an association of culinary professionals, in addition to launching successful restaurants. He was known for his flavorful cuisine, but his tongue could be tart.
He was “a gastronomic revolutionary,” according to a description of the film, “yet his tempestuous, competitive nature alienated many. Using never-before-seen archival material and new interviews with those who loved and loathed him,...
The late culinary master, who earned Michelin stars at his restaurants in Chicago and Las Vegas, is the subject of Rebecca Halpern’s debut documentary Love, Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter. Greenwich Entertainment announced today it has acquired North American rights to the film, with plans to release it in theaters later this year.
Trotter authored or co-authored 14 cookbooks, hosted a PBS cooking show and even earned a humanitarian of the year award from an association of culinary professionals, in addition to launching successful restaurants. He was known for his flavorful cuisine, but his tongue could be tart.
He was “a gastronomic revolutionary,” according to a description of the film, “yet his tempestuous, competitive nature alienated many. Using never-before-seen archival material and new interviews with those who loved and loathed him,...
- 6/24/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
All products and services featured by Variety are independently selected by Variety editors. However, Variety may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
If your dad is one to appreciate a well-shaken drink, then a personalized cocktail is one of the best gifts you can get him this Father’s Day. Dads can be really particular about the alcohol they drink, but if you gift him the the right cocktail ingredients and recipes, it shows you’re really paying attention. Whether he’s a Don Draper-esque whiskey drinker, a Tony Soprano scotch sipper or a James Bond martini fanatic, there’s an endless array of fun drinks that he can make with a well-stocked bar cart.
No matter his signature drink, we rounded up a list of the best Father’s Day cocktails, recipes and ingredients,...
If your dad is one to appreciate a well-shaken drink, then a personalized cocktail is one of the best gifts you can get him this Father’s Day. Dads can be really particular about the alcohol they drink, but if you gift him the the right cocktail ingredients and recipes, it shows you’re really paying attention. Whether he’s a Don Draper-esque whiskey drinker, a Tony Soprano scotch sipper or a James Bond martini fanatic, there’s an endless array of fun drinks that he can make with a well-stocked bar cart.
No matter his signature drink, we rounded up a list of the best Father’s Day cocktails, recipes and ingredients,...
- 6/15/2021
- by Anna Tingley
- Variety Film + TV
Are you ready for the ultimate cooking challenge? Netflix just announced the premiere date for their new TV show, The Final Table.
The competition series "series features 12 teams of two chefs from around the world cooking the national dishes of Mexico, Spain, England, Brazil, France, Japan, the U.S., India and Italy." Judges include Enrique Olvera (Mexico), Andoni Aduriz (Spain), Clare Smyth (UK), Helena Rizzo (Brazil), Vineet Bhatia (India), Grant Achatz (Us), Carlo Cracco (Italy), Yoshihiro Narisawa (Japan) and Anne-Sophie Pic (France).
Read More…...
The competition series "series features 12 teams of two chefs from around the world cooking the national dishes of Mexico, Spain, England, Brazil, France, Japan, the U.S., India and Italy." Judges include Enrique Olvera (Mexico), Andoni Aduriz (Spain), Clare Smyth (UK), Helena Rizzo (Brazil), Vineet Bhatia (India), Grant Achatz (Us), Carlo Cracco (Italy), Yoshihiro Narisawa (Japan) and Anne-Sophie Pic (France).
Read More…...
- 10/25/2018
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Netflix is doubling down on unscripted series with a raft of new titles including a new cooking from the producers of MasterChef and a pair of magic projects.
The Svod service has ordered The Final Table, Death by Magic and Derren Brown: Sacrifice alongside confirmation of projects including football doc Sunderland Till I Die and Jackass-meets-Wipeout-style gameshow Flinch.
The new shows were unveiled by Brandon Riegg, VP of Unscripted Originals and Acquisitions for Netflix, at the Edinburgh International TV Festival.
The Final Table is a global culinary competition series that features the world’s most renowned chefs fighting for a spot at the top table. The series features 12 teams of two chefs from around the world cooking the national dishes of Mexico, Spain, England, Brazil, France, Japan, the U.S., India and Italy. Each episode focuses on a different country and its cuisine. Celebrity chefs that will appear in...
The Svod service has ordered The Final Table, Death by Magic and Derren Brown: Sacrifice alongside confirmation of projects including football doc Sunderland Till I Die and Jackass-meets-Wipeout-style gameshow Flinch.
The new shows were unveiled by Brandon Riegg, VP of Unscripted Originals and Acquisitions for Netflix, at the Edinburgh International TV Festival.
The Final Table is a global culinary competition series that features the world’s most renowned chefs fighting for a spot at the top table. The series features 12 teams of two chefs from around the world cooking the national dishes of Mexico, Spain, England, Brazil, France, Japan, the U.S., India and Italy. Each episode focuses on a different country and its cuisine. Celebrity chefs that will appear in...
- 8/23/2018
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
If you’re looking for something a little different on your TV, foreign shows are readily available on our streaming services. But don’t be put off by the subtitles — otherwise, you could be missing out on some excellent programming.
Netflix has more than its share of worthwhile TV shows with subtitles — whether they’re American shows that are set around the world or foreign shows that have come to our digital shores. You can even change the settings for the ones that have English-dubbed tracks to revert them back to their beautiful native tongue.
Read More: The Best Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Acquired Series You’re Not Watching
While choosing to watch TV with subtitles allows for the optimal experience — immersing you in another culture through its language while you appreciate the actor’s actual performance — there’s one other benefit as well. Reading subtitles requires that you put...
Netflix has more than its share of worthwhile TV shows with subtitles — whether they’re American shows that are set around the world or foreign shows that have come to our digital shores. You can even change the settings for the ones that have English-dubbed tracks to revert them back to their beautiful native tongue.
Read More: The Best Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Acquired Series You’re Not Watching
While choosing to watch TV with subtitles allows for the optimal experience — immersing you in another culture through its language while you appreciate the actor’s actual performance — there’s one other benefit as well. Reading subtitles requires that you put...
- 5/10/2017
- by Hanh Nguyen
- Indiewire
Born out of the idea of wanting to make a food program that wasn’t a competition or a travel show, filmmaker David Gelb was inspired to create Jiro Dreams of Sushi, the 2011 critically acclaimed documentary film about an 85-year-old sushi master. The success of that film eventually led to Chef’s Table, a docuseries on Netflix now in its third season (debuting online Feb. 17). The series is comprised of “biographical, cinematic films about chefs telling their own stories,” says Gelb, creator and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated show that has quickly fascinated audiences with its previously untold stories of the world’s top chefs and restaurants.
In its first two seasons -- plus a French-language offshoot, Chef’s Table: France -- the Netflix series has featured renowned and award-winning chefs Dan Barber, Gaggan Anand, Grant Achatz, Magnus Nilsson and Massimo Bottura while also shining a light on lesser known personalities, such as Ana...
In its first two seasons -- plus a French-language offshoot, Chef’s Table: France -- the Netflix series has featured renowned and award-winning chefs Dan Barber, Gaggan Anand, Grant Achatz, Magnus Nilsson and Massimo Bottura while also shining a light on lesser known personalities, such as Ana...
- 2/17/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
For the first time, the Creative Arts Emmy Awards will be split into two parts this weekend, demonstrating the growing importance of the below-the-line TV crafts. Even so, don’t expect too many surprises, with “Game of Thrones” dominating for its bravura “Battle of the Bastards” sequence in several categories and “The People v. O.J. Simpson” doing the same for its zeitgeist-grabbing historical relevance.
However, two of the toughest races will be for production and costume design. Howard Cummings, last year’s Emmy-winning production designer for “The Knick,” goes up against sentimental favorite Donal Woods for the final season of “Downton Abbey,” while last year’s costume design winners Marie Schley (“Transparent”) and Lou Eyrich (“American Horror Story: Hotel”) square off this time in the contemporary category: a further transgender exploration vs. Lady Gaga as the Countess.
Read More: ‘Mr. Robot’ Emmys 2016: How Score and Sound Explore Elliot’s...
However, two of the toughest races will be for production and costume design. Howard Cummings, last year’s Emmy-winning production designer for “The Knick,” goes up against sentimental favorite Donal Woods for the final season of “Downton Abbey,” while last year’s costume design winners Marie Schley (“Transparent”) and Lou Eyrich (“American Horror Story: Hotel”) square off this time in the contemporary category: a further transgender exploration vs. Lady Gaga as the Countess.
Read More: ‘Mr. Robot’ Emmys 2016: How Score and Sound Explore Elliot’s...
- 9/9/2016
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
If there’s a running theme in this year’s race for score and sound, it’s being unconventional.
For series dramatic score, look for “Chef’s Table’s'” Duncan Thum to get the win for the poignant “Grant Achatz” episode about a Chicago celebrity chef losing his sense of taste while undergoing cancer treatment. However, Thum faces stiff competition from Chris Bacon for the offbeat “Bates Motel” finale, in which Norman (Freddie Highmore) and Norma (Vera Farmiga) face the point of no return, and from Mac Quayle’s eerie “Mr. Robot” opener (“Hello Friend”).
“Fargo” and “The Night Manager,” which go head to head in dramatic score for limited series, movie or special, offer a ’70s vibe and Mediterranean sense of romance, with the nod likely going to “Fargo’s” Jeff Russo.
Meanwhile, “Game of Thrones” and “Fargo” are the definition of unconventional. “Got” should win for series sound...
For series dramatic score, look for “Chef’s Table’s'” Duncan Thum to get the win for the poignant “Grant Achatz” episode about a Chicago celebrity chef losing his sense of taste while undergoing cancer treatment. However, Thum faces stiff competition from Chris Bacon for the offbeat “Bates Motel” finale, in which Norman (Freddie Highmore) and Norma (Vera Farmiga) face the point of no return, and from Mac Quayle’s eerie “Mr. Robot” opener (“Hello Friend”).
“Fargo” and “The Night Manager,” which go head to head in dramatic score for limited series, movie or special, offer a ’70s vibe and Mediterranean sense of romance, with the nod likely going to “Fargo’s” Jeff Russo.
Meanwhile, “Game of Thrones” and “Fargo” are the definition of unconventional. “Got” should win for series sound...
- 8/26/2016
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
A chef’s worst nightmare came true, and not only did composer Duncan Thum set that to music, it earned him his second Emmy nomination, for Original Dramatic Score for Netflix’s “Chef’s Table.”
The story of Chef Grant Achatz, the Chicago wunderkind who is one of the leaders in progressive cuisine, is almost unbelievable in its irony: the chef lost his ability to taste food while undergoing treatment for cancer. That’s not the end of his narrative, but it is part of the reason why Thum settled on Achatz’s episode as the standout for Emmy submission, even though he had scored all six episodes of the series’ second season.
Read More: ‘Chef’s Table’: The Directors’ Secret Recipe for the Best Food Show on TV
“There’s something special about Grant’s story that I just personally related to, because my sister also struggled with cancer,...
The story of Chef Grant Achatz, the Chicago wunderkind who is one of the leaders in progressive cuisine, is almost unbelievable in its irony: the chef lost his ability to taste food while undergoing treatment for cancer. That’s not the end of his narrative, but it is part of the reason why Thum settled on Achatz’s episode as the standout for Emmy submission, even though he had scored all six episodes of the series’ second season.
Read More: ‘Chef’s Table’: The Directors’ Secret Recipe for the Best Food Show on TV
“There’s something special about Grant’s story that I just personally related to, because my sister also struggled with cancer,...
- 8/19/2016
- by Hanh Nguyen
- Indiewire
The signature moment in each episode of Netflix’s Emmy-nominated “Chef’s Table” is no more than a succession of plates. Composer Duncan Thum’s melodramatic strings herald abstractions of texture and color, labeled as if on view at the Met: A rough pile of gray shards and purple flowers spattered with orange liquid (Grant Achatz’s “Graffiti, Carrot Spray Paint, Wild Mushrooms”); a wood husk filled with delicacies in the guise of dirt, twigs, and moss (Dominique Crenn’s “A Walk in the Forest”). Each montage is an expression of the belief that haute cuisine is high art, one shared by the series’ renowned subjects. “There [are] other disciplines that we can draw on for inspiration,” Achatz remarks. “There are no rules. Do whatever you want.”
For a series defined by cuisine that defies convention, however—gold-leafed ants and pillows of nutmeg air, flights of fancy and sleights of hand...
For a series defined by cuisine that defies convention, however—gold-leafed ants and pillows of nutmeg air, flights of fancy and sleights of hand...
- 8/10/2016
- by Matt Brennan
- Indiewire
At a loss for what to watch this week? From new DVDs and Blu-rays, to what's new on Netflix and TV, we've got you covered.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
"The Finest Hours"
Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, and Eric Bana lead a band of brothers on the high sea in this action thriller based on the true story of a 1952 U.S. Coast Guard rescue. Check it out on Blu-ray Combo Pack, Digital HD, Disney Movies Anywhere, and On-Demand on May 24. There's a ton of great bonus footage including the new documentary "Against All Odds: The Bernie Webber Story"; "Brotherhood," with the cast members reflecting on the bonds they forged during the shoot; "Two Crews," with Chris Pine and Casey Affleck sharing insights into Bernie Webber and Ray Sybert; behind-the-scenes interviews with real U.S. Coast Guard members; and new deleted scenes.
Check out...
New on DVD and Blu-ray
"The Finest Hours"
Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, and Eric Bana lead a band of brothers on the high sea in this action thriller based on the true story of a 1952 U.S. Coast Guard rescue. Check it out on Blu-ray Combo Pack, Digital HD, Disney Movies Anywhere, and On-Demand on May 24. There's a ton of great bonus footage including the new documentary "Against All Odds: The Bernie Webber Story"; "Brotherhood," with the cast members reflecting on the bonds they forged during the shoot; "Two Crews," with Chris Pine and Casey Affleck sharing insights into Bernie Webber and Ray Sybert; behind-the-scenes interviews with real U.S. Coast Guard members; and new deleted scenes.
Check out...
- 5/23/2016
- by Gina Carbone
- Moviefone
Whet your appetite for the coming feast. Watch the official trailer for the second season of the Chef's Table TV series, dropping to Netflix, May 27th. Don't have to worry about it being canceled too soon. Last month, Netflix renewed Chef's Table through the fourth season.
Chefs featured on Chef's Table during season two, include: Alex Atala, Dom, (São Paulo); Ana Roš, Hiša Franko (Kobarid);
Dominique Crenn, Atelier Crenn (San Francisco); Enrique Olvera, Pujol (Mexico City); Gaggan Anand, Gaggan (Bangkok); and Grant Achatz, Alinea, Next, The Aviary (Chicago).
Read More…...
Chefs featured on Chef's Table during season two, include: Alex Atala, Dom, (São Paulo); Ana Roš, Hiša Franko (Kobarid);
Dominique Crenn, Atelier Crenn (San Francisco); Enrique Olvera, Pujol (Mexico City); Gaggan Anand, Gaggan (Bangkok); and Grant Achatz, Alinea, Next, The Aviary (Chicago).
Read More…...
- 4/22/2016
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Foodies, rejoice! Netflix announced Tuesday that three more seasons of its acclaimed docuseries “Chef’s Table” will coming to the streaming service. Season 2 premieres May 27, and features the following chefs: Alex Atala, Dom (Brazil); Ana Ros, Hiša Franko (Slovenia); Dominique Crenn, Atelier Crenn (United States); Enrique Olvera, Pujol (Mexico); Gagan Anand, Gaggan (Thailand); and Grant Achatz, Alinea, Next, The Aviary (United States). Season 3 will also premiere in 2016, but Netflix did not announce a specific date. The company did, however, reveal that batch of episodes will be dedicated to four of the world’s most renowned French chefs: Alain Passard, L’Arpege (France); Michel Troisgros,...
- 3/8/2016
- by Greg Gilman
- The Wrap
While there is no shortage of reality show television to take us into the kitchens and minds of those seeking culinary excellence, those heightened pieces of programming often don't accurately convey the true cost of climbing to the top of the profession. But in the upcoming "For Grace," filmmakers Kevin Pang and Mark Helenowski chronicle the story of one chef whose single minded pursuit to be the best almost cost him everything. The documentary tells the tale of Curtis Duffy, a once troubled teenager who, thanks to the attention of home economics teacher, discovered his true passion: cooking. He survived personal tragedy and put all his energy into assembling his dream restaurant, Grace, only to discover that in the process, he was in danger of losing his marriage and daughters. And in this clip, colleagues like Phillip Foss and Grant Achatz relate their sympathies with the challenges that Duffy and...
- 3/3/2015
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
With a culinary style he likened to improvisational jazz, Charlie Trotter changed the way Americans view fine dining, pushing himself, his staff, his food, and even his diners to limits rarely seen in an American restaurant. Yet it was his reluctance to move beyond those limits that may have defined the last years of his life.
Trotter, 54, died Tuesday, a year after closing his namesake Chicago restaurant that was credited with putting his city at the vanguard of the food world and training dozens of the nation’s top chefs, including Grant Achatz and Graham Elliot. Paramedics were called around 10 a.
Trotter, 54, died Tuesday, a year after closing his namesake Chicago restaurant that was credited with putting his city at the vanguard of the food world and training dozens of the nation’s top chefs, including Grant Achatz and Graham Elliot. Paramedics were called around 10 a.
- 11/5/2013
- by Associated Press
- EW.com - PopWatch
Legendary Chicago chef Charlie Trotter passed away at the age of 54 on Tuesday (November 5).
The Chicago fire department shared the news with NBC, after the chef was transported to Northwestern Hospital. He was reportedly found unresponsive in his North Side home and taken into critical condition before being pronounced dead.
According to close family friend Carrie Nahabedian, Charlie’s wife Rochelle simply told her, “My baby’s gone.”
Trotter owned one of the most famous restaurants in the world, located in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, and several of the country’s top chefs worked under him including Graham Elliot, Homaro Cantu and Grant Achatz.
The Chicago fire department shared the news with NBC, after the chef was transported to Northwestern Hospital. He was reportedly found unresponsive in his North Side home and taken into critical condition before being pronounced dead.
According to close family friend Carrie Nahabedian, Charlie’s wife Rochelle simply told her, “My baby’s gone.”
Trotter owned one of the most famous restaurants in the world, located in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, and several of the country’s top chefs worked under him including Graham Elliot, Homaro Cantu and Grant Achatz.
- 11/5/2013
- GossipCenter
Charlie Trotter, one of the best-known chefs in America, died Tuesday (Nov. 5) in Chicago.
The 54-year-old Trotter was found unconscious at his home Tuesday morning and pronounced dead at a hospital shortly afterward. No cause of death was given.
Trotter opened his eponymous restaurant in Chicago in 1987 and quickly became well-known locally for his outstanding food and exacting standards in the kitchen. National acclaim and awards soon followed; he and his restaurant won several James Beard Awards, and Charlie Trotter's made numerous lists of the best restaurants in the United States and the world before closing in 2012. He also had restaurants in Las Vegas and Los Cabos, Mexico.
He also hosted a PBS cooking series, "The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter," and had a cameo as a chef in the 1997 movie "My Best Friend's Wedding." Trotter wrote or co-wrote 14 cookbooks
Charlie Trotter's was also the training ground for a number of younger chefs,...
The 54-year-old Trotter was found unconscious at his home Tuesday morning and pronounced dead at a hospital shortly afterward. No cause of death was given.
Trotter opened his eponymous restaurant in Chicago in 1987 and quickly became well-known locally for his outstanding food and exacting standards in the kitchen. National acclaim and awards soon followed; he and his restaurant won several James Beard Awards, and Charlie Trotter's made numerous lists of the best restaurants in the United States and the world before closing in 2012. He also had restaurants in Las Vegas and Los Cabos, Mexico.
He also hosted a PBS cooking series, "The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter," and had a cameo as a chef in the 1997 movie "My Best Friend's Wedding." Trotter wrote or co-wrote 14 cookbooks
Charlie Trotter's was also the training ground for a number of younger chefs,...
- 11/5/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
Three restaurants with three wildly different agendas make for three generally compelling stories in "Spinning Plates," a documentary that plays like a very good pilot for a Food Network series that never was.
Writer-director Joseph Levy tells the tale of one of the finest restaurants in the world, Alinea in Chicago, with its storied "molecular gastronomy" pioneer chef Grant Achatz and its pursuit of that treasured three-star Michelin Guide rating. Levy also hangs out in Balltown, Iowa, where Breitbach's Country Dining has been in the same family for 150 years, and is an anchor in the tiny community it calls home.
And Levy follows the week-to-week struggles of the Martinez family, Latin-American immigrants whose American dream is to open a Mexican restaurant (La Cocina de Gabby) in Tucson's crowded Mexican restaurant market.
Achatz, whose story is dramatic enough to have warranted a New Yorker profile, worries about his "legacy," showing off...
Writer-director Joseph Levy tells the tale of one of the finest restaurants in the world, Alinea in Chicago, with its storied "molecular gastronomy" pioneer chef Grant Achatz and its pursuit of that treasured three-star Michelin Guide rating. Levy also hangs out in Balltown, Iowa, where Breitbach's Country Dining has been in the same family for 150 years, and is an anchor in the tiny community it calls home.
And Levy follows the week-to-week struggles of the Martinez family, Latin-American immigrants whose American dream is to open a Mexican restaurant (La Cocina de Gabby) in Tucson's crowded Mexican restaurant market.
Achatz, whose story is dramatic enough to have warranted a New Yorker profile, worries about his "legacy," showing off...
- 10/24/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
While shows like "Top Chef" bring viewers into a world where chefs are already performing at a high level and looking to get to the next important step in their careers, for many cooks around the country, preparing a mouth-watering meal for Tom Colicchio and Padma Lakshmi is far from the reality they face. And the upcoming documentary "Spinning Plates" serves up a different version of what chefs around the country at all levels are facing. Director Joseph Levy uses different stories in his film to illustrate some of the unique challenges facing restaurants and cooks, and how their job is inextricably linked to their lives. And in these exclusive clips, we get an appetizer of those tales. In the first clip we meet Annie who works at the beloved Breitbach's Country Dining in Balltown, Iowa, which has been in business since 1852 and is still a family business, six generations on.
- 10/15/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Watch the trailer and check out the poster for The Film Arcade and Inception Media's Spinning Plates, with Grant Achatz and Thomas Keller. The film from director and writer Joseph Levy, opens on October 25th at the Landmark (Los Angeles) and Landmark Sunshine (New York City). Spinning Plates is a documentary about three extraordinary restaurants and the incredible people who make them what they are. A cutting-edge restaurant named the seventh-best in the world whose chef must battle a life-threatening obstacle to pursue his passion. A 150-year-old family restaurant still standing only because...
- 9/19/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
You might think there are no three places further apart culinarily speaking than Grant Achatz’s hyper-molecular gastronomy mecca Alinea in Chicago, a mom-and-pop Mexican eatery in Arizona, and a family-owned country restaurant in the middle of Iowa. But the upcoming documentary Spinning Plates is out to prove that no matter how fancy or bare bones a kitchen is, running a restaurant takes a special kind of family. “Food is at once art, at once craft, and at once science,” Achatz says in the exclusive trailer below.
But more than that, food is relationships, as evidenced in the stories of Achatz’s cancer recovery,...
But more than that, food is relationships, as evidenced in the stories of Achatz’s cancer recovery,...
- 9/17/2013
- by Laura Hertzfeld
- EW - Inside Movies
Actor Stanley Tucci will be hosting the 2013 James Beard Awards. This year's theme is "Lights! Camera! Taste! Spotlight on Food and Film."
The award ceremony's reception will feature food inspired by memorable movie moments. Chefs like Grant Achatz, Christina Tosi, Gabriel Rucker, Michael Mina, Nate Appleman and Traci Des Jardins will be cooking up the dishes.
"The James Beard Awards have often been called the 'Oscars of the food world,' and this year they are giving memorable culinary moments in cinema a starring role," reads a statement from the James Beard Organization. "Participating gala reception chefs have been asked to create dishes inspired by a favorite food moment in a film of their choice. The multifaceted role that food has played in America's most iconic films -- a reflection of family, love, pop culture, nostalgia, and, above all, the catalyst for bringing people around the table -- will be showcased throughout the night's festivities,...
The award ceremony's reception will feature food inspired by memorable movie moments. Chefs like Grant Achatz, Christina Tosi, Gabriel Rucker, Michael Mina, Nate Appleman and Traci Des Jardins will be cooking up the dishes.
"The James Beard Awards have often been called the 'Oscars of the food world,' and this year they are giving memorable culinary moments in cinema a starring role," reads a statement from the James Beard Organization. "Participating gala reception chefs have been asked to create dishes inspired by a favorite food moment in a film of their choice. The multifaceted role that food has played in America's most iconic films -- a reflection of family, love, pop culture, nostalgia, and, above all, the catalyst for bringing people around the table -- will be showcased throughout the night's festivities,...
- 3/7/2013
- by rnazarali
- Foodista
Written and Directed by: Joseph Levy
Featuring: Thomas Keller, Grant Achatz
Spinning Plates, the new documentary by writer/director Joseph Levy, is the story of three incredibly varied restaurants and their owners. The restaurants could not be more different in style and cuisine. We have the Michelin three-star-rated Alinea in Chicago, the small Tuscon Mexican restaurant named La Cocina de Gabby and the 150-year-old Breitbach's Country Dining in Balltown, Iowa. But Levy was able to tell each of these unique establishments' stories while still connecting them on some of our most basic, most important levels: family, food and love.
La Cocina de Gabby's story is one that is far too familiar to anyone who has any knowledge of the food industry. It is a family-run business trying to create a name for itself and struggling to bring in enough customers to just pay the bills. The passion and dedication of...
Featuring: Thomas Keller, Grant Achatz
Spinning Plates, the new documentary by writer/director Joseph Levy, is the story of three incredibly varied restaurants and their owners. The restaurants could not be more different in style and cuisine. We have the Michelin three-star-rated Alinea in Chicago, the small Tuscon Mexican restaurant named La Cocina de Gabby and the 150-year-old Breitbach's Country Dining in Balltown, Iowa. But Levy was able to tell each of these unique establishments' stories while still connecting them on some of our most basic, most important levels: family, food and love.
La Cocina de Gabby's story is one that is far too familiar to anyone who has any knowledge of the food industry. It is a family-run business trying to create a name for itself and struggling to bring in enough customers to just pay the bills. The passion and dedication of...
- 11/5/2012
- by Katie Jordan
- Planet Fury
Forget molecular gastronomy and the haute cuisine style which has turned the world's most famous chefs into wild scientists. A new style of cooking is heating up as home chefs and the pros looked to the distant past for inspiration.
Avant-garde cooking is having a very good year. The cooking style was recently canonized in Nathan Myhrvold's lavishly photographed, six-volume tome Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking. High priests of haute cooking, Ferran Adrià and Wylie Dufresne, best known for bringing laboratory techniques to the plate, traded in their whites for tweed and stepped into the classroom at Harvard. And on the Syfy channel, Top Chef alum Marcel Vigneron puts molecular gastronomy on display in Marcel's Quantum Kitchen.
Related story on The Daily Beast: Summer's Hottest New Restaurants
But there's another movement afoot in lay cooking circles, one that's looking backward rather than forward. Home cooks are finding inspiration in the past,...
Avant-garde cooking is having a very good year. The cooking style was recently canonized in Nathan Myhrvold's lavishly photographed, six-volume tome Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking. High priests of haute cooking, Ferran Adrià and Wylie Dufresne, best known for bringing laboratory techniques to the plate, traded in their whites for tweed and stepped into the classroom at Harvard. And on the Syfy channel, Top Chef alum Marcel Vigneron puts molecular gastronomy on display in Marcel's Quantum Kitchen.
Related story on The Daily Beast: Summer's Hottest New Restaurants
But there's another movement afoot in lay cooking circles, one that's looking backward rather than forward. Home cooks are finding inspiration in the past,...
- 6/3/2011
- by Claire Saffitz
- The Daily Beast
Can a brilliant cook make even a bowl of worms appetizing? We’ll find out this season on Top Chef Masters, which premieres April 6 at 11 p.m. Et on Bravo. In one memorable quickfire, the stars of Discovery’s Man, Woman, Wild visit the Top Chef kitchen and challenge the competitors to make a winning dish out of night crawlers, beetles, and other creepy-crawlies. “And guess who got to eat it all?” laughed Curtis Stone, the Australian chef (and onetime wannabe Celebrity Apprentice) who’s taking over as host of Masters this year, during a conference call with reporters. “I...
- 3/29/2011
- by Hillary Busis
- EW - Inside TV
Thomas Keller, Grant Achatz, and other celebrated chefs are getting into the quick-and-dirty game of pop-up restaurants. Tien Nguyen plans your four-star meals before it's too late.
Getting a seat at a pop-up restaurant-one of the biggest food trends of 2011-might not be as difficult as scoring a seat at Rao's, but it's close. Nationwide, chefs are using temporary restaurant spaces to experiment and create entirely new dining experiences, only to shut down or change menus after only a few days or months. Because what pops up must pop down, access to these unique dining experiences will be highly limited, and only those in the know will be able to snag a table. Here are some of the country's most anticipated pop-ups to come. Plan your meals accordingly.
Related story on The Daily Beast: Fall's Hottest New Restaurants
Ending February 26: Dan Moody's Relate in San Diego
San Diego's first pop-up restaurant,...
Getting a seat at a pop-up restaurant-one of the biggest food trends of 2011-might not be as difficult as scoring a seat at Rao's, but it's close. Nationwide, chefs are using temporary restaurant spaces to experiment and create entirely new dining experiences, only to shut down or change menus after only a few days or months. Because what pops up must pop down, access to these unique dining experiences will be highly limited, and only those in the know will be able to snag a table. Here are some of the country's most anticipated pop-ups to come. Plan your meals accordingly.
Related story on The Daily Beast: Fall's Hottest New Restaurants
Ending February 26: Dan Moody's Relate in San Diego
San Diego's first pop-up restaurant,...
- 2/17/2011
- by Tien Nguyen
- The Daily Beast
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.