New documentary produced by Anthony Bourdain takes a slow and thoughtful look at the life of culinary hot-shot Jeremiah Tower.
If you've never heard of Jeremiah Tower, the subject of a new documentary produced by Anthony Bourdain – even if you fancy yourself a foodie – don't worry: neither have most other people. Tower was a culinary hot-shot in the 1970s, '80s and early '90s: he co-helmed Chez Panisse with Alice Waters and was the face of Stars, the famed San Francisco celebrity hot-spot (Tower was the literal face of the restaurant: owing to a Dewar's endorsement and the establishment's high-rolling cachet, he was one of North America's first celebrity chefs). But Tower gave it all up in the 1990s, fleeing to Mexico and fading into the background. Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent doesn't frame the chef's story as a glorious rise and tragic fall; rather, it takes a slow, thoughtful look at the life of a man who didn't have any grand culinary ambitions to begin with. Director Lydia Tenaglia ensures that audiences skeptical of Tower's clout are assured by the roster of talking heads – from Mario Batali to Martha Stewart to Bourdain – that appear throughout the film, between dramatized footage of a young Tower, old photos of the real Tower and, of course, interviews with the now-septugenarian Tower. The result is an oddly compelling documentary that sheds light on an important – albeit forgotten – cornerstone of modern, contemporary cuisine.