Culinary cinema is somewhat of a niche genre, especially documentaries. Everybody has to eat and drink to survive; many of us love to eat and drink regardless. But these are usually taken for granted in films. Still, there has been a growing appreciation in recent years of chefs, sommeliers, and the importance of food quality and how it is produced. And that has been reflected in a growing number food and wine related documentaries.
Credit goes to two Colorado film festivals that have recognized the importance of food in our culture and reflected that in their lineups. The Flatirons Food Film Fest, as its name suggests, is focused solely on food and drink.
The feature film of the festival (this was its fourth year) was the documentary City of Gold about Los Angeles Times restaurant critic and Pulitzer Prize–winning food writer Jonathan Gold. Being a wine writer, though, I was there to screen SOMM: Into the Bottle. The film is a follow-up to SOMM, the 2012 documentary that followed four sommeliers attempting to pass the prestigious Master Sommelier exam.
As Bobby Stuckey, co-owner of Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder and himself a Master Sommelier put it me, “Both films are great as they demystify this craft [serving wine] especially for people who may have little idea what sommeliers do.” Somm: Into The Bottle travels around the world to answer the question, as the promo material puts it: “What is wine and why does it matter?” Or, as Stuckey told me, “It is a natural progression from SOMM showing how wine is served to giving the back story.”
The film features several well-known winemakers and sommeliers to narrate ten segments exploring a different aspect of wine. Each segment uses the opening of a rare, celebrated bottle as device to delve into the history and appeal of each wine and its origins – as if to illustrate Professor Steven Shapin’s insight that every wine has a story to tell and sommeliers are storytellers.
Especially for those of us who pay close attention to the wine world, it was fascinating to get an inside look through the words of respected winemakers and master sommeliers. With historic wineries and famous vineyards as backdrops, the film moves through topics such as winemaking, vintage differences, how wine ages, differences between what are called “New World” and “Old World” wines, what affects the cost of wine and the influence of wine critics and point scores.
Even though one could nit pick certain aspects of the film, ultimately the excellent cinematography and the stories that are as engaging as they are educational making the film a very worthwhile experience.
With 25 years as a wine professional in the restaurant industry, Mr. Stuckey emphasized to me the importance of service and hospitality (in addition to great food and wine). In a way, this was also a message of Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent, presented at the 39th Denver Film Festival organized by The Denver Film Society
This year, the festival initiated a “Culinary Cinema” series, which I hope will be a long-running program and expanded. Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent probes the life of the celebrated and often mysterious chef, one of America’s first celebrity chefs.
The film suggests Tower’s earlier years raised by wealthy but neglectful parents caused him to turn to cooking and eating for emotional comfort. It traces his nevertheless unlikely culinary career after he graduated from Harvard. Instead of pursuing a career in architecture, he got hired in 1972 at Alice Waters’ then-unknown Chez Panisse in Berkeley. Within a year he was in charge of the kitchen and soon became a co-owner. Tower left Chez Panisse in 1978 but had established himself as a culinary pacemaker.
In 1984, he displayed his visionary nature opening Stars restaurant in a neighborhood that although near San Francisco’s Civic Center was not considered a desirable destination. Under Tower’s tutelage Stars became a highly sought after destination as it popularized “California Cuisine” or what is often called “New American” cooking.
The film makes the case that much of Stars’ popularity was owing to Tower’s personality and abilities as a host. His reputation grew with the success of the restaurant. And the success of the restaurant grew with his reputation.
But it wasn’t to last. By the late 1990’s, he had built (along with investors) a booming restaurant empire. But that empire crumbled and Tower effectively disappeared from the culinary world. He eventually turned up in Mexico but had largely been forgotten, even though he had hosted a PBS series and written well-received cookbooks.
Ultimately, Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent seems to be saying – through interviews from well-known chef personalities including Martha Stewart, Mario Batali, Jonathan Waxman and Anthony Bourdain and charting Tower’s legacy – that the long-term success of Stars is largely beside the point. Tower’s innovations – emphasis on fresh, local food, an open kitchen, and creating a welcoming atmosphere and with an infectious energy – are what have had lasting influence in the culinary world.
