The new feature film A Magnificent Life is an animated biography of the great French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol. His first successes on film were “The Marseille Trilogy” composed of Marius, Fanny, and César. He continued making movies, adapting some for stage and writing numerous books that have also been adapted to screen by others such as the popular Manon of the Springs, Jean de Florette, My Father’s Glory, and My Mother’s Castle.starring many of the best actors in French cinema.
Category Archives: SLOW FOOD
Food Set Chef Melissa King Free
By Noma Faingold (Updated October 2, 2025)
Chef Melissa King was not like the other kids growing up in Whittier, a small city in Los Angeles County. While her peers watched Saturday morning cartoons, she was glued to Julie Child shows, Martin Yan’s “Yan Can Cook” and other television cooking programs.
“I was always very interested in food and I liked to eat,” King said.
SPICE UP YOUR FOOD:Recipes for Strawberry and Tomato Season — and more
Recipes by Erica Perez and John Beaver unless otherwise noted.
Curated and adapted by Gary Meyer
(updated August 30, 2025)
Spices from the Oaktown Spice Shop can take a very good dish to new levels.
C.J. Hirschfield wrote about Oaktown as they have adapted during the pandemic to provide their goods to home chefs around the world. EatDrinkFilms has chosen some recipes and comments from their website (plus one of our own) to get you started.

There is a full meal starting with Bloody Mary cocktails, a zucchini salad, strawberry spaghetti, and chewy molasses cookies for dessert; plus great popcorn idea to eat while watching an after-dinner movie.
Nous: A new Alsatian Restaurant to Complement the Ashland Shakespeare Festival
By Julie Lindow (June 16, 2025)
Are you planning to attend a play at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival this summer? It is a terrific season with classic works like Julius Caesar, The Importance of Being Earnest, As You Like It, and The Merry Wives of Windsor to contemporary shows including August Wilson’s Jitney, Shane, Fat Ham, Quixote Nuevo, and Sondheim’s Into the Woods. The season runs through October 26. If you don’t have plans yet, I highly recommend you make them and along with a reservation at the dreamy new restaurant, Nous (pronounced new).
Nous revisits the cuisine of the Alsace region of France with a blend of Germanic and French culinary traditions and an outstanding selection of wines and that are stunningly paired with the dishes.
THE JOYS AND CHALLENGES OF MAKING A FILM ABOUT MARCELLA HAZAN
Director Peter Miller talks with Geneva Anderson
(March 20, 2025- foods mentioned with an * behind them open to recipes)
Marcella Hazan is the secret ingredient that made Italian cuisine irresistible to Americans. Through her cookbooks and teaching, she taught home cooks to focus on fresh ingredients and master simple techniques to unlock flavor, which is what truly matters in food. Emmy and Peabody Award winning director Peter Miller’s thoroughly engaging new documentary, “Marcella,” which just won a Taste award for best feature, masterfully pieces together Hazan’s life (1924-2013) and legacy.
A Feast of Cinematic & Culinary Delights
A Marcella Hazan tribute dinner, 17 food-related films, and Michelin Chef Yoshinori Ishii’s masterclass on Japanese cuisine highlight a wine country festival starting Wednesday with 90+ events.
By Geneva Anderson
(March 16, 2025)
The Sonoma International Film Festival (SIFF), March 19-23, offers an extravaganza of groundbreaking cinema, food, and fun spread over five days in glorious Sonoma, the heart of the wine country. All films are screened at venues in or within walking distance of the historic town square making SIFF one of the country’s most laid back and enjoyable festivals. The full line-up includes over 90 films.
Hazan Inspired Recipes with Marcella Beans
Steve Sando founder and chef at Rancho Gordo has developed a special Marcella Bean and offers two recipes from The Bean Book: 100 Recipes for Cooking with All Kinds of Beans, from the Rancho Gordo Kitchen by Steve Sando with Julia Newberry. Continue reading
MY LIFE IN RECIPES- Food, Family, and Memories
Recipes by Joan Nathan
(updated January 28, 2025))
My Life in Recipes is new cookbook from the James Beard Award–winning, beloved author that uses recipes to look back at her life, her family history, and her personal journey discovering Jewish cuisine from around the world.
Joan is appearing with book signings across the U.S.
Joan will be speaking on Thursday, January 30, 2025, 6-8pm at Clio’s in Oakland, CA about My Life in Recipes: Food, Family and Memories and A Sweet Year: Jewish Celebrations and Festive Recipes for Kids and Their Families: A Cookbook, and how making food with friends and family is now more than ever a delight and a requisite. Tickets and more info here.
Check more appearances by Joan here.
You Stopped My World: From Menus-Plaisirs to La Cocina, A Reflection
“You have to edit the material.
That assumes that some kind of a mind is operating in relation to the material.
Not all minds are the same.
Every aspect of filmmaking requires choice.
The selection of the subject, the shooting, editing and length are all aspects of choice.”
~ Frederick Wiseman
By Cari Borja
Quotes center me. I always begin with them. Whether at the start of a salon dinner, a birthday card, a performance installation, or a piece of writing. They lend focus. The above Wiseman quote does the same ~ his words, his films, his quote ~ a focus. Continue reading
A Baker’s Dozen: THANKSGIVING PECAN PIE, PLEASE
by Dianne Boate
(Updated November 23, 2024)
Several years ago, I watched apprehensively as eleven people took forks in hand to try their first bite of my new Pecan Pie. Then, silence. Not one word. Color was coming and going on my face as they sat silently, chewing. My brain was bursting with all the arguments against making pie in the first place, and wishing fervently I could disappear on the spot. Continue reading
The Art of Eating: The Life of M.F.K. Fisher
By Julie Lindow
It is rare that watching a film can provoke a similar response as reading an author’s work, but The Art of Eating: The Life of M.F.K. Fisher does just that. One feels both starved and satisfied. Fortunately, Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher’s words on screen and paper not only awaken our hunger, but teach us how to listen to our own desires, how to slow down and pay attention, be curious, sensual, in the moment, and ultimately, how to more intensely live and love. Continue reading



