Planet in Focus - Food on Film

The 20th year of the Planet in Focus International Environmental Film Festival is on this weekend until October 20th, 2019.

I was able to preview 3 of the 4 Food Related Documentaries showing at the festival this year.

I have a soft spot for these documentaries because of my love of all things food and my interest in the sustainability of the food for future generations.

These films are all different but similar in the fact that there is a goal surrounded by what is best for the food industry and the people that are fed by them.

Artifishal

by Josh Murphy

G+ | United States | English | 2019 | 75min | Documentary

This documentary was visually stunning and mezmerizing to watch but also very thought provoking.  It is hard to reconcile the benefits of doing what is good for the environment with feeding people in the future and the battle between the fishermen who know what the costs are to the science and political figures who make the decisions that affect the fishermen and the public.

Setting the Bar: A Craft Chocolate Origin Story

by Tim Shephard

Rated G+/Mexico/English, Spanish/2019/85 min/Documentary

I wasn't able to see this film but I am really looking forward to it because of course anything related to chocolate will be interesting of course.

When Tomatoes Met Wagner

by Marianna Economou

G+ | Greece | English, French, Greek | 2019 | 72min | Documentary

This documentary was a little slower paced on the journey of a small community of people who are trying to produce a product that they want to spread to other countries.  They believed that music affects the quality of their products and they believe their product is superior to others because of the nature of the territory it comes from.  They are very proud of their accomplishment with a few mature women and a determined man with a vision.

SOYALISM

by Enrico Parenti, Stefano Liberti

PG+ | Italy | English, Chinese, Portuguese | 2018 | 65min | Documentary

This film speaks to the fight between large scale production and small scale farming practices and what it costs the communities surrounding the areas that take over large scale farming practices have to deal with on a daily basis.  This film makes you think that there must be a better way of communicating the importance of good practices that are sustainable and beneficial to everyone now and for generations to come.  It's very sad at the destruction caused by greed of people who are only concerned with the money that can be made in the Pork industry.

THE GAME CHANGERS

by Louie Psihoyos

PG+ | United States | English | 2018 | 88min | Documentary

I highly recommend this film.  I saw it over a year ago and was blown away by it.  If you are a meat eater and hate your veggies and think that you need protein to be strong then you need to watch this film because it will change your opinion on what a plant based diet can do for someone's body.

The film is smart, funny and informative and there are many surprises that you will love in this gem of a documentary.

check out Planet in Focus this weekend.   You will be entertained and Inspired.   wWW.PlanetinFocus.org

The Chef Flynn film will inspire you to step up your cooking skills.

CHEF FLYNN Documentary

Last year I had a chance to watch the Chef Flynn documentary and I was blown away by the focus and talent of such a young chef.  I know many adults that can't do half of what he can do including myself.  Chef Flynn is now 18 and has his own restaurant in New York City.  See how Flynn goes from his mothers home to running his own NYC restaurant.

You can read my original review on a previous blog post here:  
Chef Flynn Skips boyhood for Chefhood

The film returns to Toronto for a limited engagement of a week at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema at Bloor and Bathurst.  

I highly recommend that you get your butt off your couch in the chilly month of January and make your way down to the the Bloor Cinema to see this HOT movie.  Plan a dinner after the movie because you will be hungry.

If you have any budding mini chefs in your household bring them to see this movie because Chef Flynn is the ultimate professional role model for young budding chefs.

Follow Chef Flynn Mc Garry on Twitter @diningwithflynn  

CHEF FLYNN
Directed by Cameron Yates

One-Week Engagement Begins January 25, 2019Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema

Chef Flynn McGarry was 10-years-old when he opened a supper club in the living room of his California home, using his classmates as line cooks and serving a seasonal foraged tasting menu to wide-eyed Los Angelenos. 

As the years pass, Flynn grows both as a chef, and a teenager, eventually outgrowing his family kitchen, and his mother's camera. 

Featuring over 18 years of personal archival footage as well as intimate vérité, this feature documentary portrait is not only the study of a rising star thrown into the media spotlight at an early age, but also a reflection on motherhood and what it means to give up one's own identity in furtherance of a child's passion.

Director Cameron Yates (The Canal Street Madam) captures lightning-in-a-bottle to reveal Flynn’s singular drive and passion as he navigates the often-cutthroat world of fine dining. 

Chef Flynn had its Canadian premiere at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, and also screened at Sundance, Berlinale, SXSW, in 2018.

Modified Documentary - Food, Family and GMO's

Directed/Edited/Produced by Aube Giroux

https://www.modifiedthefilm.com/about

Modified is an award-winning documentary-memoir that asks why genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are not labeled on food products in Canada and the United States, despite being labeled in 64 countries around the world. 
Interweaving the personal and the political, the film is anchored in the filmmaker’s relationship to her mother, a gardener and food activist who battled cancer during the film's production. Their intimate mother-daughter investigative journey, fueled by a shared love of food, reveals the extent to which the agribusiness industry controls our food policies, making a strong case for a more transparent and sustainable food system. 




I had a chance to see Modified at the Planet in Focus film festival but I didn't have a chance to write about it then because I saw it at the end of the festival but it has lingered in my mind ever since.  This lovely Canadian film really touched my heart for a few reasons.  It was made by a female filmmaker and food blogger who is also grows organic food after learning about Organic gardening from her mother.  

The memoir of her mother plus the beautiful food images resonate with me as my mother grew ill I channelled my energy into film and food as well.

This film is a beautiful tribute to the filmmakers loving mother and also makes a statement about the long term effects of GMO food.

Everyone should see this film because it will make you appreciate your loved ones and how precious life is and how we are affected by the things we eat and are surrounded with.

The film is currently playing at the Imagine Carlton Cinema: 

https://imaginecinemas.com/cinema/carlton-cinema/

Game Changers -changing our view of meat

At first glance I didn't think that Game Changers a film about a UFC fighter James Wilks, would be a film that I would be interested in but after hearing a bit more about the subject matter of the film I became a lot more interested and was finally able to catch the last screening at the Hot Docs Film Festival on a Saturday afternoon.

The film had an amazing team that included Oscar winner Louis Psihoyos (The Cove),  Executive Producer James Cameron and James Wilks was also the Producer and main subject. 

Game Changers focuses on an elite, mostly male athletes to explode the myth that animal protein is required for maximum physical strength, performance and sexual prowess. Scientists and experts join Olympians, UFC fighters, weightlifters and marathoners whose switch to vegetarian and vegan diets has achieved dramatically positive results.  

The subject of the film Wilks has a training injury that puts both of his legs out of commission for 6 weeks and that begins his researching journey on how to recover the fastest way possible.  He finds a study about Roman Gladiators that blows his mind and changed the way he looked at the whole myth of athletes needing protein from meat to develop large muscles.  Nothing could be further from the truth as he finds out from a host of studies by health professionals.

This film is not only informative, it's entertaining, mind blowing and hilarious.   With it's focus on Plant Based foods you wonder why this hasn't been public knowledge before and why we are still pushed the health benefits of meat and dairy.  My body has been telling me that dairy isn't so great for me and I have been thinking about Plant Based diets for a while because of the fact that it's better for the environment and it's also better in fighting some of the top diseases.  I have been eating a lot less meat because it's expensive but I have to increase my plant based sources of food and see what happens, but I think I will start after my Birthday next week and see what happens by my birthday next year.  My friend already has a 3 week headstart on me so I will at least have someone to share a meal with me.  If the Terminator thinks this is a smart idea then "You Gotta Do it".



James Wilks, Producer 
Louis Psihoyos, Director
James Cameron, Executive Producer

http://gamechangersmovie.com/

Chef Flynn skips boyhood for Chefhood

CHEF FLYNN

The Hot Docs film festival is celebrating it's 25 years as a top documentary film festival.  That's is a lot longer than Flynn McGarry, the subject of the same named documentary has been alive.  Chef Flynn took over his mom's California kitchen after she lost interest in cooking while going through a depression after her divorce.  Her son grew tired of her limited cooking ability and took matters into his own hands by teaching himself how to be a professional cook.  He read cookbooks, watched cooking shows and studied whatever he can on the Internet and with the single focus of food and cooking taking over his life with the help of his extremely supportive mother. 

He started cooking at 10 but don't call him a chef prodigy or culinary Doogie Howser because he has dedicated all of his time to learn his craft and takes it very seriously and before long and with the help of his mother they filled their home with diners and started with friends and it grew to friends of friends and so on until it became a popular pop up destination called EUREKA.  Flynn concentrated on the food while his mother took care of the business side and the front of the house side.  Barely into his teens he was replicating and recreating French Laundry recipes. With his perfectionist mind he took it all very seriously as if it was the only thing that mattered in his life.

Maybe it was how he was able to deal with his parents divorce with the single focus and obsession but with his whole life devoted to only food from the age of 10 he skipped years ahead of what most accomplish in the food world even when they are twice his age.  The New York Times did a profile on him and it was both a blessing, a curse and a big life lesson.  He learned how to shake off people's biased and short sited opinions of his success and just keep focused on his goal of opening a restaurant in New York.  The film is part home movie with his former filmmaker mother filming his progress since he was a kid and then with the addition of a professional film crew documenting his rise in the the restaurant industry through a series of pop up events.  Even if you don't really care about fancy restaurant food you will enjoy the dynamic of the mother and son in this film and which this is what the film is ultimately about, the journey of both of them to achieve Chef Flynn's dream of becoming a New York restaurateur.

The film is funny, beautiful, awkward and very entertaining to watch and you will fall in love with this mother and son duo.

TIP:  eat a fantastic dinner before going to see it or make reservations at a great restaurant afterward because you will be drooling over the beautiful food throughout the movie.

You can follow Chef Flynn's creations on Instagram @diningwithFlynn and follow the film at @chefflynnfilm

for more info on Hot Docs visit their website:  www.hotdocs.ca

HOT DOCS SCREENINGS:

Sun, Apr 29 10:45 AM TBLB* there is a brunch component but it is Sold Out
Sat, May 5 1:15 PM BADER

Wasted! The Story of Food Waste - see it at Planet in Focus

WASTED! THE STORY OF FOOD WASTE

Anna Chai/Nari Kye, USA, 2017, 85 min

Slick, solution­-oriented, and featuring Anthony Bourdain at his sardonic best, 

WASTED! The Story of Food Waste is that rare social issue documentary that’s every bit as entertaining as it is informative.

Do you remember when Documentaries where things you were forced to watch in High School,  well this isn't one of those.  It's eye opening and educational but it's also whitty and interesting.  It puts food waste into perspective and you will feel a twinge of guilt the next time you throw food into the garbage and forget about it.  This documentary is one that SHOULD be shown in schools to young children so that they learn where there food comes from and where it goes if they don't eat it.
Anthony Bourdain doesn't consider himself a food activist but food waste was ingrained in his culinary training where food costs are paramount to the success or failure of a restaurant.  it's just smart not to waste any food in a restaurant but it also applies to real life.  

I highly recommend everyone watch this film.  It has so many well known people in the food industry discussing different aspects of the food supply chain and how everyone can do their part to make a difference.  

You can see it at the Planet in Focus Film festival in Toronto  in October 2017.

PLANET IN FOCUS Screening Times: Saturday 21 October, 6:45pm ­at Innis Town Hall

Screens with THE POACHER (Nicholas Jones) 

What Lies Below Premieres at Planet in Focus

The 17th Annual Planet in Focus Film Festival showing Environmental films just closed in Toronto and I was able to see a few amazing films at the festival.  One of them was the Closing Night film Premiere of "What Lies Below".  A Canadian documentary featuring Lawrence Gauther, a blind man who is a graduate from New York University's master's program in environmental studies.  He is also a writer and radio host and a speaker expert on Canada's aquatic ecosystems.

Lawrence is an incredible speaker and he takes the viewers across Canada to look at all of the things that are destroying the ecosystems in Canada.  From the toxic waste that is dumped into the Ottawa River to the destruction of the land from the Oil processing companies in the Alberta Tar Sands, and the damage that overfishing does to destroy future species of fish and the ripple effect that shark finning does to the rest of the water systems.

I knew a lot of these things but to really see the sum of the destruction mostly caused by greed and consumption is frightening.

You wonder how governments would allow companies to continue these destructive practices and what needs to be done to turn the trend around before we lose the ability to feed people and live in a healthy non toxic environment.

If you aren't able to find this documentary you can also watch Leonardo Di Caprio's documentary BEFORE THE FLOOD.  Similar in message it travels around the world to see the devastation from clear cutting, burning trees and once again the tar sands and more.

The message is clear.  We need to find alternative sources for fuel, farming and other destructive practices before it's too late.

Here's what I know and what you can do.

Don't count on politicians to save us.  The only politician that truly believes in climate change is Al Gore and even if some do they get bought by big corp who are the ones doing the damage.

If you want to do something here's some things you can do now:

1.  Eat less Beef - Most of the grains grown are to feed cattle, also it takes a ton of water to grow the feed for the cows.  The cows produce methane gas which is what is causing global warming.

2.  If you are going to eat fish reduce your consumption to a few times a week and try and only eat Sustainable fish to curb over fishing which nets all kinds of fish that are discarded.

3.  Never eat Shark Fin Soup or any sort of shark fin products.  They fish sharks and cut off their fins and toss them back into the water.  Sharks keep the oceans eco system in balance and tossing a shark back into the ocean without fins is just wrong for so many reasons.

4.  Buy less packaged products and plastics.  All of the junk food you buy uses some sort of oil to produce them and our reliance on oil to keep up with production.  The destruction that the production of oil does to the land is unbelievable.  It renders the earth toxic and people get cancer and end up having to leave their homes because everything in the are becomes toxic.

5.  Switch to more of a plant based diet and that will have a ripple effect in what is produced and on your health.  Try and buy only what you need to reduce waste so that we can keep up with production.  Eat more lentils and beans which replenish the soil and are a Canadian product.

6. Try and buy most of your products local so that the use of huge transport trucks are reduced and also things shipped from other countries in shipping containers etc.  The further it comes from the more fuel it will use to get to you.

It's all pretty scary.  I can do more and you can do more.  You can contact your politicians and vote for those you think will do the right thing but ultimately you will change things if you stop feeding the system that feeds the greed of the huge corporations that will just go in and deplete a resource for profit.  If you put them out of business they will have to find another way to run their business.

If everyone does a couple of these things consistently that can do more than waiting for a politician to create a law that has to be enforced.


For more info about What Lies Below:
http://whatliesbelow.ca/

For a look at Before the Flood:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90CkXVF-Q8M

Planet in Focus - Theatre of Life

My two favourite things in life are Film and Food.  I got to enjoy both of them together at the Opening Night Gala at the Planet in Focus Film Festival.  The Opening Night film at the Bloor Cinema was Theatre of Life, a film about food waste and the people that are less fortunate and effects and solutions made by the Vatican, Chefs, Designers and Artists.  The film was introduced by local Chef Jamie Kennedy and there was a Q&A afterward with local Chef Activist Joshna Maharaj and Director Peter Svatel.

Michelin star Italian Chef chef Massimo Bottura had an idea for a Soup Kitchen and mentioned it to a colleague and then it turned into a whole other thing that brought the World's Top Chefs from around the world to a Gourmet Soup Kitchen in Italy during their Milano Expo 2015.

Peter Svatel

Director Peter Svatel captures the contrast when Celebrity Chefs who's restaurants  can command hundreds of dollars for their meals decide to feed people who are at the other end of the economic spectrum.

Chef Bottura's idea was to repurpose leftover food from the Milan Expo that was donated to the Refettorio Ambrosiano Soup Kitchen. and an army of amazing volunteers and Top Chefs would create gourmet dinners for 100 less fortunate people.

Celebrity chefs such as Rene Redzepi, Ferran Adria, Mario Battali, Alain Ducasse and many others travelled to Milan and took over the kitchen to develop their own spin on the "surplus" food that was rescued each day, mostly things like stale bread and lots of bananas, it would change each day so the chefs needed to be creative with the ingredients.

The film profiles some of the displaced people that the Refettorio feeds as well as the people involved in making it happen.  There is an Italian homeless couple that prefers to sleep in a train station than stay in a shelter.  Another man looks for places to stay but sometimes sleeps in his car that he can no longer afford to pay insurance for.  There are refugees and people with disabilities and those who have just fallen on hard times.  A free meal won't change someone's life, but will provide a chance to meet new people and to have a great meal, a little joy, and a piece of cake.

This small idea from Bottura turned into a movement to use Food Waste to feed people who could not afford to buy food.  Bottura and his wife created a foundation to be able to do more around the world.

Food waste in some places, from farm to table, can sometimes average about 50%.  Half the world is living in poverty, and it makes sense to use some of this waste food to feed hungry people.  It won't fix their life but it will certainly help their quality of life.

They take the Soup Kitchen template to RIO to do it all over again.

I also attend the Opening night party at the 918 Cultural Centre on Bathurst- lovely space. Photos by the films photographer were on sale to raise funds for the foundation.

In keeping with the film's theme, the Opening Night Gala Party featured appetizers made by The Stop Community Food Centre using surplus food donated from the Master Chef TV production.

The film and the gala were really connected to the whole concept of Food Waste, using resources properly to sustain the environment in the world.   Well done Planet in Focus.

You can find out more about Bottura's foundation "Food for Soul":
http://www.foodforsoul.it/cooking-is-a-call-to-act-massimo-bottura/

"Cooking is a Call to Act" - Massimo Bottura

I think that this is the model that should be developed for every large event that generates surplus food.  In Toronto we have Second Harvest that works with local restaurants and others to rescue food and I think it would be great to get amazing chefs involved to elevate the surplus food to feed those in need.  It' would be a win-win situation to ensure long-term sustainability of our food sources.

PLANET IN FOCUS Festival runs from October 18-23, 2016.

Win Dinner and Movie Tickets for The Missing Ingredient!

Blue Ice Docs and Virgil Films & Entertainment Presents

The Missing Ingredient: What is the Recipe for Success?

A Michael Sparaga film

Opening in Toronto

July 15 – Bloor Hot Docs Cinema

A sold-out hit at DOC NYC, Michael Sparaga’s The Missing Ingredient: What is the Recipe for Success? is a charming and insightful exploration into what makes an everyday restaurant into an institution. The Toronto-based filmmaker will serve up his film for Canadian audiences beginning July 15, when the film will start its theatrical run at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema.

The film will be released on home video in the fall in Canada by Blue Ice Docs and in the US by Virgil Films & Entertainment, which recently acquired the film for the US market.

The filmmaker’s quest to define this intangible formula focuses on two Manhattan restaurants: Gino’s, an Upper East Side fixture with over half a century of history behind it, and a list of remarkable regulars that included Frank Sinatra, Sophia Loren and John Lennon, to name a few.  Known for its iconic zebra wallpaper so striking it caught the eye of Woody Allen and Wes Anderson who featured it in their films Mighty Aphrodite and The Royal Tenebaums, respectively, Gino’s unique décor also inspired a restaurateur looking to turn his place into an institution.

Enter Charles Devigne, the owner of Pescatore, a Midtown staple trying to survive a changing neighbourhood now saturated with stiff competition. An artist-turned-enterpreneur, Devigne is bent on deciphering the recipe that will take his restaurant to full-blown institution status. How can he replicate Gino’s success? What will it take to make sure Pescatore stands the test of time?

“This movie is a love letter to all those old school, multi-generational restaurants that exist in every city, all over the world,” said Sparaga. 

The film is Director Sparaga’s first feature documentary. The Missing Ingredient: What is the Recipe for Success? is produced by Michael Sparaga, co-produced by Joel Roff, and executive produced by Robin Smith, Neil Tabatznik and Steven Silver.

YOU CAN WIN TICKETS!

Torontonians will also get their say on what makes up the winning recipe by entering a contest Blue Ice Docs and BlogTO have teamed up to create. By choosing their favourite dinning establishment from a list carefully selected by BlogTO’s food writers, voters will get a chance to win tickets and a dinner for them and their friends at the winning restaurant.

Win a dinner for 6 and tickets to see a Missing Ingredient screening.  

Contest Deadline: July 12th

HERE IS THE LINK TO ENTER BY CHOOSING YOUR FAVOURITE LOCAL TORONTO RESTAURANT:

link http://www.blogto.com/contests/missing-ingredient-toronto/

ABOUT VIRGIL FILMS
Virgil Films & Entertainment was founded in 2003 by Joe Amodei to acquire, market and distribute DVD, TV and Digital product in the theatrical feature film, documentaries, special interest and sports categories. The company has built partnerships with OWN, Sundance Channel Home Entertainment, National Geographic Cinema Ventures, Pure Flix Entertainment, MLB Productions, Morgan Spurlock’s Warrior Poets and other high-profile entertainment brands since their inception. Releases from Virgil Films & Entertainment include the Oscar-nominated documentary Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me; the award-winning documentary Miss Representation; the critically acclaimed, timeless, best-selling Forks Over Knives; and the Oscar-nominated documentary Restrepoand its sequel Korengal. They have also released the compelling I Am Chris Farley, A Brony Tale, Legends of the Knight and others. Follow them on twitter: @virgilfilms | www.VirgilFilmsEnt.com.

10 questions for the Director of Ants on a Shrimp

At Hot Docs I  had a quick one on one chat with Maurice Dekkers the Director of "Ants on a Shrimp", the documentary about famed Michelin Chef Rene Redzepi's restaurant Noma setting up a PopUp restaurant in Japan.

Maurice and his crew want to shoot like flies on a wall or ants on a shrimp and give the viewer a look from the inside of the inner workings of a high level restaurant in food development.

I asked him 10 questions about the film and food. 

1.  How did you become involved with this project?
"I was working with Rene on a a television series when the opportunity to document the Noma popup came up.

2.  How long did it take to film?
"A couple of months, about a month in the restaurant and the rest in Denmark and around Japan".

3.  What were some of the challenges?
It was self funded. Jumping on it quickly after discussing it with Rene.  It was his first long form documentary.

4.  What do you think about food bloggers?  We agreed that there are good ones and bad ones but he also said that food bloggers helped with his chocolate business, Tony's Chocolonely, in Amsterdam.  He also said that Rene likes storytelling and likes the way some bloggers tell a story about the food.

5.  How big was your crew?
It was a crew of 3 people.

6.  Did you and the crew get to eat any of the Noma food while filming?
"Yes of course, we were the Guinea Pigs".

7.  What was the weirdest thing you ate?
"Cod sperm" and foraged things you don't know you can eat.

8.   Do you have any other projects lined up?  "No, not now".  He will be busy doing the festival circuit for a while.

9.  Have you spent any time at any Toronto Restaurants?  He went to one restaurant for Tapas with the group from Eatable Films but he couldn't remember the name but he enjoyed it.

10.  Do you think Rene's approach in developing recipes using native local food could be a solution to issues like food insecurity, poverty and food waste?

He wasn't sure but thought maybe in some ways, although the food at Noma is very expensive because of the research and development and the man hours to produce the labour intensive food.

He also said that Rene's approach to the Japan Noma was to be uncomfortable and not do exactly what they did in Denmark but learn from their surroundings.

Read my post about the film "Ants on a Shrimp" here:

At the time of this post the film was just beginning the festival circuit so there isn't a theatrical release date yet.  

Rene Redzepi's Ants on a Shrimp

Denmarks' Rene Redzepi is considered to be one of the most influential Michelin Star Chef's in the world.  His Denmark restaurant NOMA was chosen as one of the 50 best Restaurants in the WORLD.  If you aren't a jet setting rich gourmand then you might not know who he is but a lot of people around the world do and they flock to eat things like his "Ants on a Shrimp". Ut is also the name of a new Documentary that is being screened at this year's Hot Docs Film Festival.  

Eatable Films is bringing this intense look into the inner workings of creating a NOMA restaurant in Japan after closing down his Denmark restaurant temporarily.  This film isn't for the Kraft dinner or takeout pizza  crowd.  It's for people who take their food seriously and want to know where it comes from and who's making it.  

Redzepi gained his reputation from foraging for his ingredients near his restaurant in Denmark and then transforming them using modern techniques while still keeping it simple and clean.  The film focuses on Redzepi and his team of Chef's who look to Japan's native foraged ingredients to create a new menu that has Japanese roots while using his technical spin. You can see the toll it takes on the lives of Redzepi's team as they put their whole life into the new Noma restaurant  It's focus is laser sharp.  Look at this photo of Ants on a Shrimp.  Placed there one by one and making sure that the shrimp are alive when presented to guests.  Are you a food risk taker or a food conservative?  

Redzepi is the ultimate risk taker who is always looking for the unknown to become known.  

ANTS ON A SHRIMP

Eatable Films dinner to celebrate Canadian premiere of Ants on a Shrimp.

Featuring ‘The Canadian Landscape in five courses’by Chef Justin Cournoyer of Actinolite.

On May 1, 2016, in celebration of Hot Docs’ Canadian premiere of Ants on a Shrimp, the hottest food documentary of 2016, Eatable Films, Toronto’s first food film festival, curates an exclusive dinner featuring one of Canada’s most celebrated restaurants, Actinolite. Inspired by the seasonality of the Canadian landscape, Chef Justin Cournoyer will present the essence of our Canadian spring. 

THE IMMERSIVE DINING EXPERIENCE: Enter the world of culinary creation inspired by the Canadian landscape. In celebration of the film Ants on a Shrimp, Chef Justin Cournoyer of Actinolite will tell the story of seasonality and the Canadian landscape. This unique 5 course dinner will include; wild foraged ingredients, locally grown vegetables, meats, fish and grains. The dinner is a combination of highs and lows, expected and unexpected, familiar and unfamiliar. The exclusive experience, limited to 160 guests, includes film tickets and dinner with wine/alcohol pairings, served steps from the Isabel Bader Theatre screening, in the hundred-year old, neo-gothic Burwash Hall. The film’s director, Maurice Dekkers, will be in attendance. Eatable Films invites you to Eat. Drink. Think.

DETAILS:

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Screening at 6:45pm Isabel Bader Theatre, 93 Charles Street W., Toronto

Dinner at 8:45pm at Burwash Hall, Victoria College, University of Toronto, 73 Queens Park Crescent E., Toronto

Featuring Chef Justin Cournoyer, Actinolite

With special guests, including Maurice Dekkers, Ants on a Shrimp

Tickets $190pp, including screening, dinner and wine/alcohol pairings

Tickets now available at http://www.hotdocs.ca/p/ants-on-a-shrimp

THE CHEF:

Chef Justin Cournoyer is an advocate for the culture of food - the inherent wisdom of our ancestors in following the land to cook with what you have around you at the moment, within our Canadian Seasons. One of the most important connections is to the source of the food itself. Actinolite Restaurant works directly with farmers, fisheries, mills and vintners to pull together the best they have to offer and craft the journey of the meal. When you turn yourself over to the journey, the sum is so much more than the parts. Cournoyer’s meals are beautifully choreographed to be memorable and to make you want to come back and be taken by the hand once more. 

THE FILM: ANTS ON A SHRIMP | 88 MINUTES | 2016 | NETHERLANDS 

In January 2015, the food world holds its breath while renowned chef Rene Redzepi temporarily closes Noma, considered the world’s best restaurant, and transports his entire team from Copenhagen to Tokyo for a five-week pop-up. Known for translating the essence of Denmark's unique flavours into one-of-a-kind dishes, now neither Redzepi nor his staff know anything of the local food resources. With Redzepi’s international reputation hanging in the balance, filmmaker Maurice Dekkers delivers a once-in-a-lifetime behind-the-scenes peek inside the intense pressure, determined artistry and impossible challenge of life inside a kitchen of unparalleled ambition.

ABOUT HOT DOCS: Hot Docs, North America’s largest documentary festival, conference and market, will present its 23rd annual edition from April 28–May 8, 2016. An outstanding selection of 232 documentaries from Canada and around the world will be presented to Toronto audiences and international delegates. Hot Docs will also mount a full roster of conference sessions and market events and services for documentary practitioners, including the renowned Hot Docs Forum, Hot Docs Deal Maker and The Doc Shop. In partnership with Blue Ice Group, Hot Docs operates the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, a century-old landmark located in Toronto’s Annex neighbourhood.

ABOUT EATABLE: An innovative and immersive experience, Eatable Films is the first film food festival in Toronto. Its mandate is to provide audiences with a new way to get excited about food. Eatable satiates the hungry viewer and inspires the food-obsessed mind.

Website and Social Media:

Hot Docs

www.hotdocs.ca

Eatable Films

www.eatablefilms.com

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Chef Curtis Duffy's FOR GRACE at NIFF

If you are planning on going to the NIAGARA INTEGRATED FILM FESTIVAL (NIFF) in the Niagara region the weekend of June 18-21 then you must try and go see the documentary "For Grace".  a film by Chicago Tribune Food Writer and Filmmaker Kevin Pang and fellow Chicago filmmaker Mark Helenowski. The story follows Michelin Star Chef Curtis Duffy.

I was lucky to have seen the film at the Hot Docs Film Festival already otherwise I would be seeing it at NIFF for sure but since I have already seen it and thoroughly loved it I can recommend it 100% for you to go and see it.  Even if you aren't a chef or foodie you will still like the film as it's more of story of overcoming hardship and succeeding and surrounding yourself with people that become family.

The story started as a short video and article project about Michelin Star Chef Curtis Duffy for the Chicago Tribune but once they realized it was more than a story about a superstar chef opening a new restaurant they decided to turn it into a feature documentary.

The film starts off similar to one of those restaurant makeover shows.  Chef Duffy is about to leave the restaurant Avenues to open his dream restaurant with his good friend and business partner.
You think you are about to watch a film about the struggles of opening a high end restaurant in Chicago and it is that but then it turns into a whole lot more.  The Chef lost both of his parents in a family tragedy just as he was beginning his culinary journey and a lovely Home Ec teacher took him under her wing and gave him support and guidance and is still in touch with him and was like a mother to him when he didn't have one.  He is newly divorced with 2 young girls at a time in his life when the pressure is on to succeed.  With his fractured family life he pours all of his time and energy into his culinary dream.  He opens his restaurant "For Grace" 9 months later than planned and a year later he receives 3 Michelin stars for the Best New Restaurant in Chicago.


Chef Duffy apprenticed with acclaimed Chef Greg Achatz and the two chefs share similar tragedies to success stories and how to work hard and still be a good person and succeed.  Chef Achatz had a mouth Cancer illness that he survived and he was featured in the documentary "Spinning Plates"

This film had many big guys in the audience shedding a tear at the end of the film.  While it had a bit of food porn it was a whole lot more than a story about food.  It was a story about working hard and overcoming life's difficult situations and how to maintain integrity and life balance in the process.

Chef Duffy's family are the people he spends up to 16 hours a day with everyday at the restaurant but it's his dream and he has sacrificed a lot to achieve his dream.

There is a connection to Toronto with Writer Pang,  who lives in Chicago now but happens to have lived in Scarborough as a kid.

I really enjoyed Chef Duffy's story, his passion and his great heart.

His restaurant serves plates at $700 each and that's why everything must be perfection.  You might not be able to afford to go to his restaurant but you can afford to get a bit of the experience by watching the documentary.

I believe the director and Chef Duffy will be in attendance at the NIFF screening.

Screenings  June 19 & 20  For Tickets https://niagarafilmfest.com/buy-tickets/

For full details about NIFF https://niagarafilmfest.com/