If Steve Jobs Were a Chef, He Might Be Jeremiah Tower
Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent, a new documentary directed by Lydia Tenaglia and executive produced by Anthony Bourdain, is one of those movies that sneaks up on you. It may not feel this way for those who already know who Jeremiah Tower is, but as someone unaware of his existence before hearing about the film, the first act—which chronicles Tower’s childhood with globetrotting, aristocratic and neglectful parents—is a slow burn. It’s an interesting stretch, because Tower’s childhood plays like a five-star travelogue version of Home Alone, just without the burglars and boobytraps; but it’s when Tower arrives at Berkeley’s Chez Panisse that the film, and his culinary career, kick into high gear.
The Last Magnificent features interviews with Mario Batali, Martha Stewart, Bourdain, and more, and in the film’s opening minutes they extol Tower’s instrumental role in the American food revolution of the 1970s and 1980s. It’s apparent that he’s not just a brilliant chef, but also a magnetic one. His star burned so brightly that his absence from the public consciousness is remarkable. The film takes an interesting approach in its third act as it chronicles both the end of Tower’s magnificently popular Stars restaurant in San Francisco and his recent attempt at a comeback as the top chef at a revamped Tavern on the Green in New York. Through it all, Tower remains fascinating and just a bit mystifying.
It’s easy to gather that Tower doesn’t let most people into the most private parts of his mind and heart, yet his personality and talent make him a person you want to be around. It was actually pretty disappointing to walk out of The Last Magnificent and know that I wouldn’t be able to go experience one of Jeremiah Tower’s restaurants, because it’s evident that Stars was a brick and mortar incarnation of the man. Tower’s dedication to detail in atmosphere, presentation and (of course) flavor reminded me a great deal of Steve Jobs, whose products from Apple were created under the most personal supervision.
There’s an instance in the film when Tower, then at Tavern on the Green, tells a bartender to throw out some less than satisfactory limes, asking him “Would you want this with your drink?” Like Jobs in his earlier years, he’s more than a little insensitive, but he’s still right, and it's that cocktail of personality traits that make figures like Tower and Jobs hard to look away from. Jeremiah Tower made a name for himself by bringing a classic, aristocratic touch to a modern food movement, and The Last Magnificent’s many interviewees believe he is a genius we won’t see the likes of again. The film serves as a coda to Tower’s career as its stands now, but it’s an excellent way for those who’ve never experienced his culinary mastery to see it up close, even if you can no longer taste it for yourself.