42 Grams

I honestly don´t understand all those 10/10 reviews on such a personal and unbalanced tale of profissional success. It´s a well directed and produced business presentation and i´ve never felt any love for food and cooking or any care for the costumers. Just plenty of ego even more technique and cooking skills with a dash of bipolar behavior.

I end up giving such a low rating because i predicted the end of the documentary as soon as he mentioned the "2 stars on the first year" thing and because i found Chef Jake a very sad and nasty person that tramples over everybody else while chasing his dreams.

Not good but interesting anyway.

Must-see for foodies, food lovers and friends -- this cinematic gem is also a film for those that love a great underdog story. And Jake's an unlikely underdog - a culinary rockstar, a creative genius, defying conventions in his underground restaurant... when he and his wife Alexa take the leap of a lifetime to launch their restaurant, 42 GRAMS. Fascinating, fun to watch, and also heartbreaking. Moved me to tears. A compelling glimpse at the creative process of a brilliant chef and artist, at life behind one of the best restaurants in the world, and what it takes to sustain that -- told honestly and without pretension. Gorgeous cinematography brings the food off the plate and accessible to the audience in a way that no other doc - film or TV - has managed before.

I was tempted to award 2 stars but that's a different scale. I don't generally watch or enjoy documentaries but this was outstanding. My review was too short so I had to add some meaningless drivel so I had the required one hundred fifty words in my review which is harder than I first thought it would be but here I am.

Jake knows what he's doing. He has great ideas and makes great food in a successful restaurant. But he has SERIOUS problems articulating to his wife and employees when it's "go time". He just needs to chill the F out. Maybe practice some mediation or something. He really does have the skills, chops, and know-how, along with the creative artistic eye to present both delicious and visually satisfying food. He also seems to understand how to pair foods with different textures and flavors so that they go great together. He has clear goals in mind and seems he'll-bent on reaching them, but he's just a damn jerk to everyone that helped him get there.

I saw this at a film festival, it's an incredible story about determination, creativity, and food. The film takes us from the very start of a somewhat crazy idea, all the way through to a start up chef winning the coveted Michelin star.

Definitely a documentary worth seeing.