Weekend Cooking: Ella Brennan: Commanding the Table (Film)

Have you ever heard of Ella Brennan? I hadn't, but I sure have heard about her restaurants and the chefs she nurtured into fame.I have also heard about (and experienced) the world-renown food scene of New Orleans, for which she deserves much, much credit.

The documentary film Ella Brennan: Commanding the Table (directed by Leslie Iwerks, 2016, streaming on Netflix) introduces to this amazing NOLA native through vintage photos and film, visits to her restaurants, and personal interviews.

When Ella was just 20 years old and with no business experience, her much older brother put her in charge of a newly acquired family restaurant, which was to be called Brennan's and which soon changed the face of the New Orleans restaurant scene. It was at that restaurant that she came up with the dessert Bananas Foster, which is now served the world over.

From there, she bought and revived the Commander's Palace, which eventually became one of the best restaurants in the country. Her vision brought Cajun food to the general public after she hired a young local chef no one had ever heard of by the name of Paul Prudhomme. Later, she took a chance on another unknown, the 24-year-old Emeril Lagasse. Ella not only encouraged her staff and chefs to do their best for her own restaurants but she relished their growth and celebrated their decisions to move out on their own.

The documentary is Ella's story, the story of a family, the story of American local cuisine, and the story of a city's evolution into a major food destination.  Ella Brennan ends with the rebuilding of the restaurant after the devastation of Katrina, highlighting the determination it took to start over again after the loss of absolutely everything.

Ella was an amazingly generous person and an extremely hard worker. Despite several setbacks--some personal, some financial--she never gave up, moving forward to help her family and her staff.

The film focused on Ella's life in the restaurant business and her influence on New Orleans food and American tastes. Still, I wish director Iwerks had featured the city and its diverse population more strongly. Despite that, Ella Brennan: Commanding the Table was a fascinating introduction to a shining star in the American food world.

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International Freebie!

If you'd like a PDF copy of the cookbook that accompanies Crystal King's The Chef's Secret (see my post from Monday), either comment on this post or link up your own foodie post and then fill out this form. Everyone who provides his or her email after commenting or participating will get a copy. Fun fact: I adapted one of my grandmother's recipes for the book!



I'll delete your email from the Google form after I send you your cookbook.
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