SPINNING PLATES

For his new documentary Joseph Levy chose to profile three wildly different restaurants/eating establishments whose proprietors and chefs had one thing in common : sheer passion that could also be perceived as lunacy too.  At the top end of the scale was Alinea in Chicago that had just been voted as one of the ten best restaurants in the World.  Renowned chef Grant Achtaz is a visionary who is totally obsessed with molecular gastronomy which is about the science of preparing food and pushing the boundaries of experimenting into concocting the most complex of dishes that take hours to prepare and just one bite to finish.  When Levy starts filming Achtaz and his team are awaiting the Michelin Guide’s first ever visit to Chicago as they desperately want their coveted Three Stars.

Breitbach’s Country Dining is the next place on Levy’s list.  Situated in the village of Balltown, Iowa (pop. 70) it’s been run by the same family for over 6 generations, and is the oldest restaurant/bar in the State. It is a beloved institution by not just the local community but by its loyal band of customers from all the surrounding States, and Mick and Cindy Brietbach’s worries are not about winning  Awards but wondering if they can serve another 2000 lunches this coming Mother’s Day.

And to complete the trio, Levy profiles a small Mexican restaurant outside Tucson called La Cocina de Gabby, that Francisco Martinez has opened for his wife Gabby as ‘she cooks like angel’.  They have only been open a few months and have practically no working capital and very few customers.

All three places are totally fascinating for entirely different reasons although they are all share a common desire to succeed very much on their own terms.  And then just as you are hooked enough to really want them to achieve their dreams, disaster happens.  Big time, and to them all.  The film suddenly seems less like a documentary and more of a Lifetime TV melodrama.

Be warned, there are spoilers in this next paragraph just in case you want to stop reading now.

Grant Achtaz is diagnosed with Stage 4 tongue cancer for which the leading specialists in New York give him little to hope for. Brietbach’s catches fire one night and burns down to the ground, only for the entire local community to come together and re-build it from scratch.  10 months later another fire turns the new building into a pile of ashes.  And in Tucson the Martinez’s get evicted from their house when it is foreclosed.

There are very happy endings for two out of three of them, but by then its hard to move off the edge of your seat as you are stunned in total disbelief and are wreaked with fear in case there are any more disasters waiting around the corner.

This is Levy’s first documentary but his previous day job was as Ex Producer of TV’s ‘Ultimate Recipe Showdown’ so he knows how to photograph food really well, so be sure to eat before you see this one otherwise you will have real hunger pangs. But with all the human drama, this fascinating movie is not just for foodaholics, but for anyone who likes a disaster or two served up with their meals.