A Matter of Taste (2010)

The ups and downs of one man's career as an innovative chef are charted in this documentary from Sally Rowe. Paul Liebrandt approaches cuisine as an art form, and has made a name for himself with his bold combinations of ingredients (one of his more outré creations features eel, violets and chocolate) and presentation which resembles abstract expressionism more than the way your mother put food on a plate. In 2000, while he was chef at the New York eatery Atlas, Liebrandt earned a rare three-star rating from New York Times food critic William Grimes, all the more impressive given the fact Liebrandt was only 24 years of age. However, a promising career took an unexpected detour after September 11, 2001, while Liebrandt's daring approach fell out of favor and diners demanded simpler, more comforting fare. In A Matter Of Taste, Rowe and her camera crew follow Liebrandt as he struggles to re-establish himself, first at a small restaurant eager to take advantage of his prestigious reputation, and later at his own eatery. A Matter Of Taste was an official selection at the 2011 South by Southwest Film Festival.