Cooking for me is a fun hobby. I really enjoy taking the time during weekends to choose which new dish I’m going to try, do errands and then with some nice background music start preparing the ingredients. If the end result also tastes delicious that is simply a wonderful feeling. For some people cooking means even more, people who have made it their profession. Even within that line of work people have different objectives. The documentary Spinning Plates shows three restaurants and the ideas and dreams that live within them.
These three restaurants are very different from each other. At the top there is restaurant Alinea which has received the title of best restaurant in North America, with master chef Grant Achatz. A man who is driven to be the best in everything and is constantly experimenting. But just as in the Netflix series Chef’s Table attention is given (as in the other two restaurants) to the personal story. The main instrument of a cook is obviously his tongue, but Achatz is told that he has tongue cancer. Something that could destroy his career.
The second restaurant is Breitbach’s Country Dining, where the meals are a lot and the standards are lower, but where it’s all about the community. People come to the family restaurant, which has existed for more than 150 years, to meet and several people help out as volunteers. This restaurant also has it’s dark side when a large fire (not the first) destroys the restaurant.
The final restaurant, La Cocina de Gabby, is run by Francisco and Gabby Martinez. They started it because Gabby loves cooking so much, but despite the passion and hard work this Mexican restaurant does not manage to be successful. They run the risk of not earning enough and losing their restaurant and their home. But they try everything to keep food on the table for themselves and their daughter.
It is the alternation between and the variety of restaurants which makes this such a fascinating documentary. While Achatz looks at his food like art, the goals at the other two are very different. Through personal stories and dramas, it is a film with a soul where the passion for food (and others) is very present. If you like food documentaries then Spinning Plates is one you should see.
