Chef Thémis: A Cook Without Borders

Buried Seeds

July 2019 •English

Buried Seeds, a film by Andrei Severny, is a timeless story of human passion, willpower, and resolve in the face of adversity. The film follows Michelin Star Chef Vikas Khanna's on his journey as an immigrant. Born with clubbed feet in Amritsar, Vikas is bullied by his classmates. Khanna takes refuge in his grandmothers kitchen and discovers his passion for the vivid traditions of Indian cuisine. At the age of 29, Vikas moves to New York with nothing in his pocket and ends up in a homeless shelter. Through years of struggle and hard work Vikas opens his first Indian restaurant in Manhattan. Over time Vikas Khanna grows to become one of the most influential chefs in the world and a cultural ambassador of his nation. While wealth and glory may be transient, what truly defines him is the will to create himself every single day.

A Taste of Sky

March 2019 •English

Danish culinary entrepreneur and Noma co-founder Claus Meyer has kickstarted a gastronomic revolution in Bolivia’s capital of La Paz with the opening of Gustu, a fine-dining restaurant and cooking school for the country’s impoverished youth. Kenzo, a hunter raised in the Bolivian Amazon, and Maria Claudia, a native of the Andean altiplano, have resettled in La Paz in order to pursue a career in the culinary arts. Under the tutelage of Meyer, these young Bolivians are working towards a better future as they attempt to establish their country as the world’s next great culinary destination.

Étoilé.e.s

April 2018 •French

Keith Meets Keith

September 2009 •English

Keith Allen meets his long-term hero, Keith Floyd, who transformed the presentation of gastronomy on British television.

The Wandering Chef

October 2020 •Korean

Korean celebrity chef Jiho Im mourns the death of a beloved maternal figure in the only way he knows how: cooking 108 delectable dishes over 24 hours.

Arzak, Since 1897

September 2020 •Spanish

The story of the transformation of traditional cooking into nouvelle cuisine through 100 years of history at Donostia's Arzak restaurant, run by Juan Mari Arzak and his daughter Elena Arzak.

Restaurant Hustle 2020: All On The Line

December 2020 •English

Like many businesses, the restaurant industry has been hard hit by COVID-19. This timely film, directed and executive produced by Guy Fieri and Frank Matson, intimately chronicles the impact of the pandemic on the restaurants of four chefs familiar to viewers of The Food Network: Antonia Lofaso, Marcus Samuelsson, Maneet Chauhan, and Christian Petroni. Unfolding as the COVID-19 outbreak sweeps across the US, Restaurant Hustle 2020: All on the Line follows these chefs as they face the reality of shutting down, laying off staff, and finding alternate ways to save their beloved restaurants and industry.

Chef en pandémie

November 2020 •French

Jacques Pépin: The Art of Craft

May 2017 •English

Discover the story of Chef Jacques Pépin (b. December 18, 1935), a young immigrant with movie-star looks, a charming Gallic accent, and a mastery of cooking and teaching so breathtaking he became an early food icon—joining James Beard and Julia Child among the handful of Americans who transformed the way the country views the food world.

Sous pression

December 2014 •French

Camp Yoshi

July 2021 •English

After moving to Oregon and falling in love with the ability to explore the outdoors with ease with his wife and two kids, Rashad Frazier knew he had to extend the invitation to others. Driven by the magic of his experiences, his background as a chef, and his love of good food and connecting people to incredible places that open up to conversation, he created Camp Yoshi, which curates custom outdoor adventures centered around shared meals and shared experience with the goal of creating a space for Black people and allies to unplug and in turn reconnect with the wilderness. By virtue of being in these places, Camp Yoshi's trips transform historically segregated spaces into safe havens for the community, conversation, and nourishment.

Lui Ho Yin

April 2024 •English

An intimate portrait into Tony, Lui Ho Yin, a 32 year-old skater, chef, photographer and model.

Noma at Boiling Point

November 2008 •Danish

This documentary about Rene Redzepi's Copenhagen restaurant follows the proceedings in the kitchen for six months as Noma climbs to the top of the world's 50 best restaurants.

James Beard: America's First Foodie

April 2017 •English

Food in the 21st century has become much more than “meat and potatoes” and canned soup casseroles.” Chefs have gained celebrity status; recipes and exotic ingredients, once impossible to find, are now just a mouse click away; and the country's major cities are better known for their gastronomy than their art galleries. This food movement can be traced back to one man: James Beard. His name graces the highest culinary honor in the American food world today—the James Beard Foundation Awards. And while chefs all around the country aspire to win a James Beard Award, often referred to as the “culinary Oscars,” many of those same chefs know very little about the man behind the medal. Respected restaurateur Drew Nieporent summed it up when he said, “Everybody knows the name James Beard. They may not know who he is, but they know the name.”

Soul

July 2017 •English

Soul explores the secrets of gastronomy where two cuisines apparently so opposite in their philosophy, conception and experience, have both earned the highest culinary recognition, three Michelin stars.

El Bulli - Historia de un sueño

May 2010 •English

A lot of interesting documentary footage, interviews with the original owners and some of the many chefs who worked at the famous restaurant.

The God of Ramen

June 2013 •Japanese

Every day, people would queue for over two hours for a bowl of ramen. What’s the celebrated chef’s secret ingredient? There is no secret ingredient. In fact, as most fans of Taishoken believe, it’s the charisma of owner Kazuo Yamagishi that attracted people from all around Japan to his modest shop. His personality and love for his craft, combined with a precise mélange of flavours, combined to create perfection in each ramen bowl. This heart-warming documentary is not just for noodle fans, but for anyone who loves to be inspired by passionate people.

Blind Sushi

October 2017 •English

A blind adventure writer and the first sustainable sushi chef search for enlightenment in the murky depths of the New England coast.

Kings of Pastry

November 2009 •English

The collar awarded to the winners of the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Craftsman in France) is more than the ultimate recognition for every pastry chef - it is a dream and an obsession. The 3-day competition includes everything from delicate chocolates to precarious six foot sugar sculptures and requires that the chefs have extraordinary skill, nerves of steel and luck. The film follows Jacquy Pfeiffer, founder of The French Pastry School in Chicago, as he returns to France to compete against 15 of France's leading pastry chefs. The filmmakers were given first time/exclusive access to this high-stakes drama of passion, sacrifice, disappointment and joy in the quest to have President Sarkozy declare them one of the best in France.

Constructing Albert

September 2017 •English

Portrait of the Catalan chef Albert Adrià, brother of the world-renowned chef Ferran Adrià, an emerging figure in the world of Spanish haute cuisine, with his own voice, far from the shadow of his brother.