Kings of Pastry - A pretty sweet movie

Last night I took in Kings of Pastry at the Bytowne Cinema on Rideau Street. It was their 4th and final showing and the place was packed! Fortunately there are two more showings in town. This time at the Mairfair Theatre on Monday, January 31st at 7 pm and Wednesday, February 2nd at 7 pm.

This documentary followed chef Jacquy Pfeiffer, co-founder of Chicago’s French Pastry School, and two other chefs, as they prepared in the final days leading up to the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF). There, 16 chefs were working to earn the collar awarded to the winners of the MOF - Best Craftsman in France. This event is only held every 4 years. A sugar Olympics of sorts. The competitors put in years of preparaton. It is a high stakes game to work towards total perfection, with everything riding on the sugary, chocolatey, buttery art forms created in those three long days of competition. Some 40 complicated recipes in all. Every move is surgically calculated to ensure that the highest calibre products with the most sophisticated details can be realized in the time allotted. There is no room for error.

The movie had scenes of high drama and suspense as at any moment a delicate creation could collapse into a million pieces with just one wrong move. And that spells g-a-m-e o-v-e-r. As we came to know a number of the chefs, we enjoyed the human and humorous side of their experience as well. An important part of competing internationally is finding your life perspective.

Tempted yet? Take a look at this clip on You Tube. Pure delight.



This movie is a must see for any foodie. Again, mark your calendars for the Mairfair Theatre on Monday, January 31st at 7 pm and Wednesday, February 2nd at 7 pm. Check it out.

Auntie Loo's Treats (Ottawa's first 100% vegan bakery) is planning on bringing lots of baked goods for sampling and for sale to the January 31st screening!

Bytowne Cinema - Please Give

I am guessing it is mostly foodies who read the blogs of other foodies. And one might wonder if foodies 'do' anything else other than food. And, perhaps, although we like to say we aren't food snobs, to anyone watching our lives from the outside, our food snob colour may appear to be painted pretty bright.

But for even the most die-hard foodie, surely there is life beyond the end of our fork.

Well I am here to tell you that I think that this is true of me. Skeptics unite! I can tell you with faithful honesty that I do make things as 'regular and everyday' as rice krispie squares and I make them as the recipe is specifically written on the box. Well, first be wowed that I would be so 'regular and everyday' in my choice of quick lunchbox treats. But no fancy modifications? It's true. Me, who has a life beyond the end of a fork, loves plain rice krispie squares. And in fact the last time I made them, I ended my day at a lecture at Carleton University on quantum physics. The award winning documentary movie The Quantum Tamers was being premiered here in Ottawa by the University of Waterloo's Perimeter Institute. So I do have a life. Okay, I may not ever do that quantum physics thing again, because that was pretty heady, but I will make more rice krispie squares. My life beyond the end of the fork does consist of many other things and one of those is going out to see a really great movie.



This is quite a lead in just to say that if you get the chance to slip down to the Bytowne Cinema to see Please Give, I think you just might like it. I am a bit of a Rebecca Hall fan (Frost/Nixon and Vicky Cristina Barcelona), although the lead in this film is actually Oscar-nominated (Capote and Being John Malkovich) Catherine Keener. It is just a touching everyday life flick about a NYC couple and their 91-year-old neighbour and her two single granddaughters. They each have their own stories but so too do their lives intersect. The grandmother's directness (something I have learned is just part of the physiological evolution of aging) garners the most laughs. The boy population in the audience this evening was aplenty so there are many who would agree that it is not a chick flick. The 86 minutes move very quickly. The movie is in town until Thursday.

(And if this really needs to be a blog entry about food, the Bytowne has popcorn like no other.)

Have you seen any really good movies lately?

Bytowne Cinema
325 Rideau Street
Ottawa, Ontario

Why Am I Hiding in Hollywood?

Some people kill off the cold days of winter doing puzzles or crosswords. This year, it seems I have drifted to movies. The irony is that I have a very hard time keeping my attention span through the entire length of a cinematic creation. One day I gave myself permission to go to the movies by myself and to not feel insignificant about it. In fact, there is actually nothing terribly social about sitting in the dark theatre with someone beside you that you usually don't touch in public and for sure someone that you won't be talking to during the event. So does it really matter if the person beside me is a total stranger? I don't think so. I treat myself to movies under the following possible conditions:
1) I have worked very hard on a goal and want to reward myself with a little break for a few hours.
2) The members of the household are already occupied with their own activities and I am without a plan.
3) It is a time when movies are very cheap - Tuesdays or the morning (Rainbow Cinema $2!!). Of course the Bytowne Cinema seems cheap all the time at $6 for members.
4) I just HAVE to see it.

So here is my list from my last addiction...
* The Young Victoria - really enjoyed
* A Single Man - great movie
* The Men Who Stare At Goats - absurd but fun. Wait for the DVD.
* The Blind Side - One of Sandra Bullock's better performances. But wait for the DVD. I thought it got too much hype.
* The Proposal - fine on DVD or free! Not super memorable.
* It's Complicated - worth heading to the theatre now. Meryl Streep is great.
* Up In The Air - George Clooney is not hard on the eyes. Liked it!
* Grey Gardens - Compelling but sad. Drew Barrymore deserves her Golden Globe.
* The Devil Wears Prada - There is Meryl Streep again. She is always on her game.
* Under The Tuscan Sun - I hear the book was better. Cute.
* Brothers - Compelling. I liked it but I hear the original Danish film is better.
* Cairo Time - I liked it. But not a big wow.
* Leap Year - fun and crazy. Makes you ask why you live life so seriously.
* Julie and Julia - Meryl Streep. Need I say more.
* Broken Embraces - Penelope Cruz! I liked it!
* Nine - Skip the theatre. Kate Hudson has a fantastic song and dance in this musical.
* Pride and Prejudice - Classic!
* Beverly Hills Cop - Sometimes you just have to go back to the 80's.
* Taking Chance - Cried even the third time seeing this. Kevin Bacon deserved the Golden Globe
* An Education - Loved it!
* Flame and Citron - Awesome. Gut-wrenching story of German occupation of Denmark.
* Coco Avant Chanel - Enjoyed it.
* Prague - fantastic Danish film. Not as good as After the Wedding though.
* The Reader - I thought it was great.
* In The Loop - a must see if you are a public servant. Lots of profanity but funny.

On my up and coming list...
* Crazy Heart
* The Last Station
* The White Ribbon

Perhaps it is time for the 12 step program.