Ambitious construction, international chefs, health inspectors and a river that just won’t freeze. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * Ambitious construction, international chefs, health inspectors and a river that just won’t freeze. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Ambitious construction, international chefs, health inspectors and a river that just won’t freeze.
is a new documentary about the ebbs and flows of bringing RAW:almond, Winnipeg’s ephemeral winter pop-up restaurant, to life. Chef Mandel Hitzer, of deer + almond, and designer Joe Kalturnyk have been collaborating on the feat of temporary architecture and fine dining situated at the frozen junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers since January 2013. SUPPLIED Chef Vasco Coelho Santos (left) from Portugal and Mandel Hitzer work in the makeshift kitchen of RAW:almond.
The 90-minute doc from local production studio Farpoint Films focuses on the 2024 edition, an event plagued by unseasonably warm temperatures and challenging logistics. Mere weeks before the first seating, Hitzer and Kalturnyk had to pivot from building on the flimsy ice to safe, solid ground at The Forks. “It was definitely more worrisome for them,” Farpoint president Kyle Bornais says of the documentary subjects.
“For us, honestly, it was like, ‘Well, this will make great television.’” However, one thing did have to change from a filmmaking pe.