But at some point, Tower dropped out of sight and went into seclusion. Once ubiquitous, synonymous with the California cuisine he helped to create, the enigmatic chef moved on. The Last Magnificent attempts to solve the man’s mystery, but only generates more. Tower is more than once described as having a “locked room inside.” The film cracks open that door just a little, but every explanation seems too simplistic. How can we really know the unknown forces that drive those who change the world?

Ella Brennan: Commanding the Table (Jack Robinson)

Equally sumptuous is Leslie Iwerks' Ella Brennan: Commanding the Table, a loving portrait of the doyenne of New Orleans cooking. It is interesting to view this film next to the one about Jeremiah Tower because it illuminates the importance of healthy collaboration between a smart, creative restaurateur and the chefs who create the menu. Where the partnership between Waters and Tower became complicated by unknown and still unexplained tensions, Ella Brennan’s success is based on her ability to unlock culinary creativity within the magnetic personalities she has ushered into the spotlight.

Brennan was pushed into the career she would spend the rest of her life pursuing by her eldest brother. One of six siblings in a very tight clan, Ella became involved in what became the family business in her teens, when the Brennans decided to take over a famous New Orleans nightspot. The Irish clan soon found themselves in direct competition with the city’s famous French restaurants and struggled to define themselves. They decided to put their signature on breakfast, added alcohol and ushered in a new era of creativity for a previously ignored meal.

The film gorgeously moves through the family’s early years in the business, opening and establishing one amazing restaurant after another in New Orleans. Ella’s philosophy is summed up in her younger sister’s statement, “[Running a restaurant] is like show business. You do two shows a day. At five o’clock you brush your teeth, put your lipstick on, have a scotch and do the whole thing again.” Ella Brennan lead her family through multiple incarnations and eventually ended up reviving Commander’s Palace, where she would introduce chefs Paul Prudhomme, Emeril Lagasse and Jamie Shannon to the world.

Massimo BotturaMassimo Bottura

Food for the Soul at the Mill Valley Film Festival