Chef Jeremiah Tower: The Creator of Nouvelle Cuisine

Dining out as entertainment? The chef as the main attraction? Eating local and an emphasis on distinctly American cuisine? Who is responsible for all of this?  A name you may not even know: Chef Jeremiah Tower. At the Four Seasons in Los Angeles, I dish with Chef Tower, who is the subject of the film, Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent which was released on April 21 2017.   If you aren’t familiar with Chef Tower, his story plays like a modern drama.  In the late 70s and early 80s, Tower was a revolutionary and regaled chef at Chez Panisse. In 1985, he left to launch his legendary Stars restaurant in San Francisco.  Stars was the birthplace of the chef as celebrity and the excitement of the kitchen as an evening on the town's main event, not to mention the invention of distinctly American ‘nouvelle cuisine.’  Years later, Tower abruptly closed Stars and left the culinary scene all together for an extended self-imposed exile.  No one knew where he was until he popped up 15 years later in NYC at the seemingly obviously mismatched establishment of the very rocky Tavern on the Green.   The just released movie of Tower's life, executive produced by Anthony Bourdain and directed by Lydia Tenaglia, might as well have been called, 'The Rise and Fall of Jeremiah Tower: Will a Third Act Prevail?'  Drama to say the least! So, sit tight. Grab a glass of champagne and listen in to my interview with the one and only, the man who started it all and put America on the map for culinary excellence, Chef Jeremiah Tower. For more information, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast .