Jerusalem on a Plate

From 3 stars chefs to female cooks, sommelières, entrepreneuses all around the world, meet innovative women who want to change the world through gastronomy.

A creative journey into the unique mind of René Redzepi, chef and co-owner of Noma, voted best restaurant in the world four times.

Affectionately known as claquos or calendos, Camembert is one of France's favorite cheeses. Almost 500 million Camemberts are sold in France every year. While this historic monument to French gastronomy retains its artisanal image, the reality is very different. From AOP to made-in-Normandy to 100% Norman milk, confusion reigns from market stalls to supermarket shelves. The "real" Camembert de Normandie, with its PDO label, accounts for less than 5% of sales. Investigate one of the jewels in the crown of French cheeseboards.

The documentary tells how the artisanal cheese production technique arrived in Minas Gerais in the 18th century, brought by Portuguese adventurers in search of gold. Today, almost 30 thousand families live from the production of artisanal cheese throughout the state.

Well before many chefs of his generation, Michel Troisgros hit on culinary practice and culture which today lie at the heart of world gastronomy. Refusing to bend to fashion, his cuisine is unrestrained and personal, bright and cheerful, making the world-renowned Maison Troisgros resolutely modern even four decades after its inception. This tasty yet minimalist cuisine is echoed in Paul Lacoste's meticulous direction, where the handsome lighting and smart photography make the film a pure delicacy.

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.”

In 2014, businessman Cédric Naudon announced that he would launch the Jeune Rue project in Paris's 3rd arrondissement: a street that would become a hub for luxury, design, and gastronomy. The Parisian elite was thrilled to hear Naudon's plans. But this utopia ultimately turned out to be an empty shell.

This documentary follows Ishihara Hitoshi, a Japanese kaiseki chef whose highly acclaimed restaurant in Kyoto has three Michelin stars. This is one year in the life of a chef who pursues perfection but always insists he’s not yet there.