Coming to Netflix today, Friday, May 1:
ELLA BRENNAN: COMMANDING THE TABLE
Director:
Leslie Iwerks
Premiere:
New Orleans 2016
Select Festivals:
Miami, Mill Valley, Santa Barbara, Boulder, Dallas,
About:
A profile of the New Orleans restaurateur, known for Commander’s Palace.
Iwerks offers a comprehensive and appealing, if fairly conventional, tribute to the now 90-year-old matriarch of the Brennan family, who have roots in New Orleans but whose culinary empire extends far beyond that storied city. The film, however, largely sticks close to home, detailing how a young Brennan began working with her beloved older brother in their first restaurant, Brennan’s, and how his untimely death pushed her to assert control, ultimately expanding to the now legendary Commander’s Palace. In the process, her embrace of local cuisine fostered the widespread dissemination and appreciation of regional American cooking, and launched the careers of celebrity chefs like Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse – and Brennan doesn’t even cook!
what (not) to doc 