A TOWERING FIGURE
‘Magnificent’ charts the rise and fall of the Chez Panisse chef who became a star in his own right
Jeremiah Tower wanders through a maze of Mayan ruins in the opening shots of the delicious documentary “Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent.”
Once a legendary figure in the foodie word, one of the founding figures of American cuisine, Tower in this scene seems to be pondering how a culture so majestic could vanish into obscurity.
It’s a fitting motif for Lydia Tenaglia’s beautiful if fitful documentary about the famed chef, who similarly rose to dizzying heights only to all but disappear from view.
Certainly, this is a compelling and poignant portrait of a man who burned too bright to stay afire forever. While the documentary makes Tower’s story a little hard to follow if you’re not already versed in the food world, he still emerges as a fascinating, tragic figure.
Achild of affluence and neglect who spent his boyhood pivoting from grand hotels and ocean liners to boarding schools, Tower landed at Chez Panisse in Berkeley in the early 1970s. He was a Harvard grad with no grand culinary vision but equipped with a handsome face and a passion for beautiful ingredients simply prepared. He brought a sense of French classical rigor to Alice Waters’ bohemian brasserie, which in turn drew fame and fortune. She, like so many presented in this documentary, fell for Tower with his good looks and elegant manner. Out of their volatile romance and collaboration sprang a new American cuisine that worshiped all things fresh and local.
As their adulation grew, so did their conflicts, and their
bitter falling out led Tower to launch Stars, his famed San Francisco palace to food. One of the first celebrity chefs, Tower made a mark on the culinary scene that is opined on here in interviews with the likes of chefs Mario Batali, Martha Stewart and Anthony Bourdain (a producer) and food writer Ruth Reichl. He became a food star, as adept at feeding his fame in the press as he was holding court with A-list celebrities. Not one to suffer fools gladly, he was also well-known for making enemies as fast as friends.
But Tower spread himself too thin, opened too many restaurants, and when the 1989 earthquake struck, it was the beginning of the downfall for Stars and Tower’s empire.
Tenaglia tells the story through a zesty mix of archival stills, interviews with other chefs and luminaries in the cooking world and some video footage. Unfortunately, the timeline the documentary charts can be muddled, and if you don’t already know the arc of Tower’s story, some of the segues can be confusing. Still, the film vividly evokes the drama of a fine meal, the epic journey from aspic to profiteroles that Tower helped elevate to the level of an artistic experience. Before Tower, a night out meant a dinner and show. Tower made dinner the show.
“Magnificent” also chronicles Tower’s attempted comeback at New York’s fabled Tavern on the Green, a notorious behemoth tourist magnet with mediocre food. Once a media darling, Tower made a great target for deliciously nasty reviews. He takes it all in stride, of course, but it’s hard not feel regretful about the cruel ways the world treats the daring and the dreamers.
“The Last Magnificent” captures it all and is certainly a banquet for foodies dying for the inside dish on the birth of new American cuisine.