FILM OVERVIEW

Detroit’s culinary heritage is as important to our city’s story as the automobile. Even during economic downturns, legendary dining spots like the Detroit Athletic Club, the Pontchartrain Hotel, Joe Muer’s, the Roostertail, Mario’s and the London Chophouse were setting standards of excellence for cuisine and service across the world’s stage.

It began in the 1960s, with Detroit on overdrive — General Motors, Ford and Chrysler were expanding globally and executives from these industry giants, thanks to extensive work-related travel, became savvy, adventurous diners with a love of fine wine and professional service. This paved the way for Detroit to introduce a diverse range of dining destinations rivaled only by New York and Paris. Trailblazers like Milos Cihelka (from Czechoslovakia), Heinz Menguser (from Austria), Yvonne Gill (from New Zealand), Rene Mouttet (from France), Leopold Schaeli (from Switzerland), Aldo Ottaviani (from Rome) plus our native Detroiters Douglas Grech and Carolyn Haskins...some of which brought culinary traditions from their homelands…but all worked wizardry in their kitchens. Meanwhile, the lord of the dining room was the maître d’, who often patterned characteristic savoir faire from the classic restaurants of Europe.

Young chefs who wanted to join back-house teams had to have a skill set that kept up with the demands of impeccable kitchens. Each raised the bar for food interpretation with a unique style, invaluable advice, brand recognition and the sheer power of personality to enhance a guest’s restaurant experience. Yearly charity events at Cranbrook and the St. Vincent & Sara Fisher Center brought these young masters together while international organizations like the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs (founded in 1610) found their way to Detroit, a new dining mecca. If a chef was tapped on the shoulder to prepare a complex, seven to twelve-course meal for this group, they had to be prepared for careful scrutiny by top critics in gastronomic excellence. Remarkably, many of these young chefs were the product of a single culinary education — Livonia’s incomparable Schoolcraft College.

Today, Detroit’s growing ethnic population have added their own spice to this fascinating, wide-reaching story, from food trucks to white tablecloth dining rooms, making our city one of the world’s most culturally diverse and unique places to dine out. Meanwhile, our innovative kitchen masters continue to influence chefs around the globe.

The 2023/2024 Detroit Public TV documentary by Producer/Director Keith Famie and the team at Visionalist Entertainment Productions will tell the unfiltered story Detroit’s culinary heritage. Expect to laugh, be inspired, reminisce, and possibly tear up as you join us as we celebrate Detroit’s expansive reputation as an international dining destination.

𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑/𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬:

- History of our rich ethnic community, restaurants and food purveyors
- The early professional chefs/country clubs and hotels/restaurants
- The early food critics
- History of chefs and restaurateurs support for local charities
- History of the Michigan Chefs de Cuisine
- Michigan culinary colleges/future chefs
- US Culinary Olympics
- Michigan's Master Chefs
- Kitchen designs and how they evolved
- Front of the house directorship/maitre'd/wine industry
- Feature on today's leading Detroit/Michigan restaurants