ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

The popularity of the streaming series The Bear, dramatizing the stressful, unforgiving, upscale kitchen environment of this fictional Chicago restaurant, has renewed attention to culinary brilliance. And among the real legendary chefs of the world, in and beyond Chicago, include Charlie Trotter, profiled in writer/director Rebecca Halpern’s documentary Love, Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter. Commentary and archival footage, including personal letters, establish Charlie’s never tolerating mediocrity for himself or others, creating difficult, but also stimulating collaboration. Notably, he inspired a generation of chefs in the U.S. and globally.