“Spinning Plates is a foodie phantasmagoria and something more. ...an involving look at personal dramas that go well beyond the kitchen.” Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
This last weekend saw the Lewisham Awards take place at Auckland’s Shed 10, the night when the best of the city’s hospitality scene is honoured by its peers. Peer recognition is probably the most valuable accolade in any industry, but probably no more so than in hospitality where every man and his pup is a restaurant reviewer thanks to the internet and a location can be damned by a disgruntled customer on Zomato.
The event is also one hell of a knees up by all accounts, and one that brings the industry together to pat each other on the back for staying alive in one of the toughest businesses out there.
Which brings me to my subject this week, Joseph Levy's documentary about what it takes to keep a dining destination afloat –SPINNING PLATES. The fairly straightforward documentary takes a look at three very different restaurants and their respective owners, exploring their personal challenges and the strong ties between food and community.
“Spinning Plates is a foodie phantasmagoria and something more. ...an involving look at personal dramas that go well beyond the kitchen.” Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
This last weekend saw the Lewisham Awards take place at Auckland’s Shed 10, the night when the best of the city’s hospitality scene is honoured by its peers. Peer recognition is probably the most valuable accolade in any industry, but probably no more so than in hospitality where every man and his pup is a restaurant reviewer thanks to the internet and a location can be damned by a disgruntled customer on Zomato.
The event is also one hell of a knees up by all accounts, and one that brings the industry together to pat each other on the back for staying alive in one of the toughest businesses out there.
Which brings me to my subject this week, Joseph Levy's documentary about what it takes to keep a dining destination afloat – SPINNING PLATES. The fairly straightforward documentary takes a look at three very different restaurants and their respective owners, exploring their personal challenges and the strong ties between food and community.
One is a world-renowned chef in Chicago competing for the ultimate restaurant prize while privately enduring every chef's nightmare - tongue cancer. A 160-year-old restaurant in Iowa shares an amazing bond with its community and must call on all of their support when disaster strikes. And a young couple with a Mexican restaurant in Tucson serve up amazing food whilst struggling to make ends meet.
The film dwells on why the hard workers behind the restaurants keep returning to the kitchen, which is what I ask myself constantly when I see how hard people I know in hospitality actually work. It crosses from being a job into a lifestyle, no matter what level you are at.
Here is a little background on each establishment, with the movie having me rooting for all three by the time the credits rolled:
Alinea, Chicago, Illinois
This fine dining establishment has Grant Achatz at the helm, one of the most acclaimed chefs working today. Alinea has been named Best Restaurant in North America and seventh best in the world by the industry bible, S. Pellegrino’s Restaurant magazine, whilst Gourmet magazine declared it the “Best Restaurant in America” in its twice-per-decade list of America’s Top 50 Restaurants. Achatz himself was named the “next great American chef” by The New York Times and “Rising Star Chef in America,” by the James Beard Foundation. No pressure then!
A graduate of the Culinary School of America, Achatz realised a lifelong dream when he opened the doors to Alinea in May 2005. The restaurant received early attention and was nominated by the James Beard Foundation as the Best New Restaurant in America. His extraordinary detail is part of what makes his preparation so amazing and he is undaunted by spending 12 hours working on what will become – literally - one bite of food. As he struggles with downplaying his anxiety leading up to the Michelin ranking and a life threatening health diagnosis, he finds time for his two sons, embarking on creative adventures.
Breitbach’s Country Dining, Balltown, Iowa
Breitbach’s goes beyond just being a dining establishment and moves into the territory of “pillar of the community”. First open in 1852, the original country diner was a popular stagecoach stop for cross-country travelers. In 1891, it was purchased by the Breitbach family, and Breitbach’s Country Dining has been in the family ever since. Mike Breitbach is the 6th generation owner, and he runs the restaurant with his wife, Cindy, their two children and son-in-law.
Cindy Breitbach says, “we are a restaurant, but it’s more of a community centre,” and when a tragic Christmas Eve fire burns the well-loved establishment to the ground in 2007, it’s up to the community to rally behind the Breitbach clan, contributing resources, materials and manpower.
La Cocina de Gabby, Tucson, Arizona
A small but carefully though out Mexican restaurant, La Cocina de Gabby was named by owner and chef Francisco for his wife Gabby, who learned to cook from her mother. Now the whole family spends their days in the kitchen, preparing meals for customers while Francisco and Gabby’s daughter Ashley plays nearby.
The recipes used by the pair in the kitchen have been handed down from generation to generation. Gabby loves her mother’s food, and she prepares it with pride, under her mother’s watchful eyes. “The true seasoning is in a person’s hands,” she says in Spanish, kneading dough, and for the pair food is most definitely directly linked to family.
They hope that La Cocina de Gabby will provide some financial security for themselves and for Ashley but at times things just aren’t looking good, and it was their story that was the most relatable for me. How many little ethnic eateries out there going though exactly the same thing, but get passed over in favour of a big business establishment?