First off, have you been to The Logan Theatre? Independently operated, this cinematic gem opened in 1915. The nostalgic, remodeled Art Deco theme is simply gorgeous. It’s not just an aesthetic; they play new releases as well as classic movies all month.
Chef Tyler Florence has the good fortune of a full head of hair and Food Network career spanning the last 23 years!!! Afro Beer Chick and I recognize his face from The Best Thing You Ate. Low key, it’s on the short list of shows we slow down watch every time.
Tyler is gracefully making the transition from the front of the camera to the production side. Unbreakable is the documentary debut of Monarch Collective, his full service, branded lifestyle content agency. It captures the 2017 + 2018 Wine Country fires. It’s a terrifyingly, beautiful account of perseverance and how a community was ripped apart.
Chef lives in Marin County just north of Golden Gate Bridge and owns two restaurants in San Francisco. In Northern California it rains 6 months a year.
The challenge annually is to leave the grapes on the vine log enough to get that perfect level of fermentation and acidity. There’s a race to get grapes harvested before the rain cycle hits. The latest disaster fires began to break out after it hit 100 degrees for 25 straight days in 2018.
I spent 48hrs in The Bay for Chicago Beer Geeks back in 2017. One of Tyler’s friends would bring him to Chicago during the summer long ago, so we spent our interview trading compliments about each region.
“The civic engineering here is so much different from New York. The buildings are so well placed here, there’s these vignettes and perspective you get here that other cities don’t offer, It’s breathtaking. ” says Tyler.
Chicago had its own disaster back in 1871 w The Great Chicago Fire so we needed to see this film. When the city burned down, Joseph Schlitz brought his ass down from Milwaukee for a chat because all our fucking breweries just burned to the ground. I’m talking from Roosevelt all the way up to Fullerton!
In the film Unbreakable, two sisters had their legs both amputated from the fire and their parents both died. All of your worries go out the window when you hear that. If they don’t, you’re pretty shallow.
This Chicago stop on the Unbreakable film tour was hosted by Cooper’s Hawk. It fits nicely between upcoming film festivals stops in STL, Santa Barbara and Sonoma County.
Napa and Sonoma Counties are some of the most beloved regions in the world. 2017 + 2018 saw the 2 biggest fires in the region’s history. The hour-long feature celebrates the wineries that make this corner of the earth so special.
-Nkosi
Other Notes:
-The documentary tour accompanies Tyler’s ninth cookbook, Tyler Florence: Fresh.
–Cooper’s Hawk community of restaurants and wine clubs are the hub of the good life for visiting chefs, tourists and locals alike
-The Tyler Florence Empire includes an olive oil line, a wine label, 2 restaurants, and a production company.
-Tyler is a South Carolina Native, has degrees from Johnson & Wales University, School of Culinary Arts, a Business Degree in Hotel Restaurant Management and received an Honorary Doctorate in 2005.