MAKING LA GRANDE BOUCHERIE 74 min | Documentary Feature | 2023
Drawing on the period of beauty and innovation known as La Belle Époque, design plans for a larger-than-life Manhattan restaurant honor French heritage and commit to the atypical choice to work with multigenerational family-owned businesses in France who will handcraft everything from the iron railings to the pewter countertops using traditional methods that have been the same for over 100 years.
The timeline is threatened when COVID-19 begins to have an impact in the U.S. and they must find a way to persevere and make sure the lofty dream is realized. A true testament to the grit of New Yorkers, construction crews and design teams push the limits to rapidly complete the project right up until the grand opening of Manhattan’s largest restaurant during what would come to be known as one of the hardest times in history for the restaurant industry.
This lively portrait is an all access look behind the scenes during the creation of a budding NYC culinary institution and its cross-cultural proposition for a marriage between the city of lights and the city that never sleeps. Nestled underneath a unique glass covered passage, New Yorkers will soon discover the glory of the roaring 20s in Paris from the heart of Manhattan.
