If the film world has the Oscars and Palme d’Or as measures of excellence, the highest accolade in the restaurant world is the Michelin star.
But as an interviewee in Adrian Choa and Michael Boccalini’s Feast or Famine: The Quest for the Michelin Star points out early on in the documentary, an Oscar is for life, while a restaurant can be stripped of its coveted star or stars from one year to the next.
The directors stopped by the Deadline Studio at SWSX London, where the work premiered on Monday, to discuss the doc delving into the mythology, mania and method behind securing a star through the perspective of the UK.
The Michelin restaurant guide and its star rating system was initially launched in 1900 by namesake French tyre manufacturer Michelin in the early years of the automobile.
“Michelin has done more for gastronomy than anyone else, however, they are the only option and by being the only option, it kind of pigeonholes chefs to do it in a certain way and we felt whether it is right or wrong people should know,” said Boccalini.
At the heart of the documentary are the contrasting journeys of former enfant terrible of UK cuisine Pierre Marco White, and the young team behind rising Italian Japanese fusion restaurant Angelina in London’s hipster Dalston neighborhood.
The directorial team is also an interesting fusion.
Choa is known for his immersive observational work exploring fringe groups with recent credits including Louis Theroux: Inside The Manosphere and series Jamali Maddix: Follow the Leader while Boccalini’s credits include the comedy mockumentary Love Possibly and romcom How To Make Her Leave with a Larry King portrait in the works.
Boccalini, who is also a producer on the film, said the documentary grew out of a shared passion for food-related content with longtime producing partner Steve Hodgetts.
“I love Is It Cake?,” he said, referring to Netflix’s studio-set baking show. “The studio ones get a bit tedious, but we understood that the industry liked prizes and competitions. Being a small production company, it’s very hard to buy IP. Michelin is out there and restaurants are trying to get a star, so we thought, okay, why don’t we follow a restaurant trying to get a star?”, he said.
“It’s kind of the same as a competition show, but it’s in real life. We are based in L.A. and go back and forth but we needed a solid director in London and enter Adrian Choa.
Choa suggested their differing filmmaking styles and paths were complementary.
“The film is a marriage of two genres in the sense that it’s that kind of classic retrospective, master interview streamer style that we’re used to but it’s also got the obs docs element of being in the trenches of Angelina… I’ve specialized in the more obs docs space, so I think we work together well in kind of marrying those two different genres together.”
Securing White’s involvement in the film was also key, with the documentary interweaving the Leeds-born chef’s story from his beginnings as teenager at the Hotel St George in Harrogate to becoming the first British chef to win three coveted stars at his The Restaurant Marco Pierre White.
White retired from professional cooking in 1999 and took the unconventional step of handing his three stars back and has since become a vocal critic of the Michelin star system.
“As he grew older, I think he became a little bit the grumpy old man in the eyes of the public and the truth is he had a lot to say. He wants to protect chefs. The Michelin journey is incredibly demanding and there’s no alternative. So, you have to kind of follow that game,” said Boccalini.
“That’s what he’s been trying to say for 30 years, maybe not in the best way. So, what we pitched to him is, do you want to tell that again a little bit slower in your romantic way of speaking, and we’ll give you the time and he liked that idea.”
The doc also digs into the generational shift which has seen young generations eschewing regimented and sometimes abusive kitchens in favor of a more egalitarian, human way of doing things.
“Gastronomical culture was driven by Auguste Escoffier who invented the kind of Marshall system of very bravado militaristic kitchens, which Marco was ultimately the first icon of and Angelina, when we found them, are the opposite of that,” said Choa,
“They have a very non militaristic loving kitchen, and they represent, I would say, a new wave of kitchen culture that people are trying to pioneer… it was an interesting kind of conflict to the heart of the film to bounce between Marco’s opinion and then life on the front line of Angelina.”
UK-based Michelin-starred chefs Chris and Jeff Galvin (Galvin Bistrot & Bar) Adam Handling (Frog) and Pascal Aussignac (Club Gascon) are among those sharing more positive thoughts on the Michelin star system.
The filmmakers attempted to engage with Michelin on the documentary, initially to get their feedback on the early title idea of Michelin Impossible. “They weren’t against it. They knew what we were doing. Michelin is very smart. They just stay mysterious and quiet and let it happen. We were in touch. They’ve seen the film… but I think they want it out there to a certain extent,” said Boccalini,
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