From the James Beard Award-winning, much-loved cookbook author and authority: an around-the-world collection of recipes from the global Jewish diaspora—an essential book of cooking and culture. We feature two favorites from this beautiful book: Double-Lemon Roast Chicken and Flourless Chocolate Cake. They make a meal fit for queens and kings.
By Gary Meyer
One of the challenges for any film festival is finding the perfect opening night movie.
A curator wants a terrific movie first but also it must be a crowd pleaser— Not too experimental or heavily political. You don’t want to alienate the opening night audience who may not be as adventurous as those attending many other movies during the event. They need to leave the theater in a good mood and hopefully want to return for more shows. But you want it to be a movie that also means something to people and leaves them thinking as well as entertained.
Opening Night photo by Pat Mazzera
THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM is a film that takes us through a wild ride of emotions with the team who have made Apricot Lane Farms a success under the guidance of Molly and John Chester. One of the most important end products is food and they have created many wonderful recipes. EatDrinkFilms is thrilled to have been given permission to offer some of them to you.
Traditional foods are the real, whole, unprocessed ingredients of our ancestor’s kitchens. These simple foods nourished us for centuries, before modern food processing turned our health upside down.
The Apricot Lane Farms believes in focusing on simple recipes with high quality ingredients- that’s really the heart of the traditional foods movement. Their culinary team, led by Molly Chester, is proud to share a few favorite recipes with you and your family to try at home.
by Eric Khoo
I have always been intrigued by food and the role that it plays in our lives. As the noted food historian Ben Rogers says, “Food is, after language, the most important bearer of cultural identity”. I feel that what food signifies goes beyond that, it defines who we are and shapes the lives we lead. On top of that, I also think that food is a unifying force. It has the power to bring people together under the most mysterious circumstances. I started work on this project when a producer friend Yutaka Tachibana asked if we could work on something to celebrate 50 years of Japan and Singapore’s diplomatic relations. I felt that food would be a perfect vehicle as both countries are crazy about good food and because there are so many stories about food that have moved me. Hence we started to look into the food of each country that we could incorporate into the story. We settled upon two iconic dishes from each country, Bak Kut Teh and Ramen. Themes such as acceptance, forgiveness and reconciliation appear in the film. I want to celebrate relationships, not only amongst people but also between food and people. It is a reminder that more than just sustenance, food can warm our hearts and feed our souls.
I am excited that Ramen Shop is now opening in theaters throughout North America and thought a little background and a recipe might be fun to accompany your enjoyment of the movie and the food.
Do you find ramen irresistible? Love Singapore hawker halls? Can’t get enough of Anthony Bourdain or Chef’s Table? Reread Proust with delight? Ramen Shop has you covered! Here is the taste of food as memory, family, connection, identity… and love.
The number of movies focusing on food—growing, preparing and eating it—grows every year. Almost every film festival has a selection you want to taste. And the 2019 San Francisco International Film Festival is no exception with its Spotlight section focusing on four new features. And we are adding another that we feel fits the category.
