Spinning Plates

Went to the theater with almost no expectations and left with a huge smile on my face.

Spinning Plates is an intimate look into the lives of three stories that revolve around food, family, sacrifice, and resilience. Within the stories is a wide variety of food types, chefs, backgrounds, economic means, and ambitions. Yet with all the differences, the similarities are uncanny—and it's what brings the film together.

Anyone with an appreciation for food or family will find relatable emotional elements in this film —and it will give you a little more insight on the types of struggles that some of our favorite places to dine go through on a day to day basis.

Watch with snacks, plan for a meal afterward. Enjoy!

This movie is about 3 restaurants. I was watching it because I'm interested in food but only 1/3 restaurants actually fulfilled my desire. Two were about peoples lives running restaurants and quite miserable. We actually fast forwarded them and just watched the section about Grant Achatz. That was amazing seeing his molecular gastronomy his genius and passion. Would love to eat at Alinea or Next. 10/10 for that section. The other two literally made me upset and annoyed to watch. One about a Mexican couple whose restaurant was not going well. Instead of trying to improve, look at their marketing strategies, how to get more customers, how to make better food, they just prayed. And god didn't answer. The other was about a guy super helpful, creating a community in his restaurant and serving the most unhealthy looking food ever. Chicken fried chicken, steak, etc. How can you make a doco about this unhealthy food? If you like food, just watch Achatz. If you like drama watch all 3.

Spinning Plates is a documentary on three different restaurants and their owners/cooks. We inter-cut between one of the most acclaimed restaurants in the world, a Mexican restaurant on the verge of going out of business, and an extremely popular small town restaurant. We meet all the owners and see how much their restaurant means to them.

Each of the three stories are unique and compelling. There is a wide arrange of emotions portrayed and felt. There is nothing being pushed on the audience, no politics, or biases. The film just takes you behind the scenes to show you how the restaurants are run and why. Through interviews, you get to see the heart, dedication, and passion of the owners.

This documentary seriously changed my view on cooks and restaurant owners. I can now appreciate high quality meals as art. And I recognize the passion and hard-work that goes into these kinds of businesses. By the end of the film you see a common theme of love and companionship for each restaurant.

I highly recommend this documentary to everyone. I cannot imagine somebody not liking this.

One of the best documentary's I have ever seen. It is so unique to this genre because it is not trying to push anything on the audience or expose a hidden truth. My last documentary I watched that I really liked was "Waiting For Superman." And it is a film that shocks it's viewers, and appalls them, gives us hope and then takes it away, it is a typical documentary. But my absolute favorite movies are ones that are like nothing I have ever seen before. Spinning Plates is a game changer. It wont' shock you but it will warm your heart and touch your soul... and make you hungry. While watching the movie I became sucked into the story. The hour and a half seemed like a minute-- it was the perfect amount of time. I wanted more, but at the same time it was all I wanted, just a quick pick-me-up, an inspiring part of my day that made me want to hug my family and then have a big family dinner. It is utterly entertaining- I laughed and I cried. Spinning Plates reminds us about community, passion, hard-work and the power of food. Most importantly, I was inspired and proud to be a human. This film is a gem in the rough. WATCH IT!

This film takes a fascinating look into three very different types of restaurants in the United States, and the people that make them possible. Like most well done documentaries, you are sucked in to the lives of the people who run these restaurants. The film strikes an emotional cord in the way that you are elated when things go well for these people and their restaurants, and you are torn to pieces when things go wrong.

The documentary flows nicely from the story of the modernist, top tier restaurant Alinea run by Grant Achatz in Chicago, to the comfortable, family run, historic Breitbach's in Balltown, Iowa, lastly to the struggling, authentic Mexican restaurant La Cocina de Gabby run by a sweet family in Arizona. Each story presents different aspects of the restaurant business at different levels of success. Each story shows the hardships, struggles, joys and pleasures of running a restaurant. And each story captivates your emotions and keeps you hopeful for their futures.

Although the restaurants are different, all three strive to be the place people want to come. This film brings to light the fact that it isn't the food that makes a restaurant, it's the people behind it who put their blood, sweat, and tears into the work. As a lover of food and film, I would recommend Spinning Plates to anyone who shares either passion. Overall, it is a heartfelt, interesting and entertaining documentary.