Every chef has an origin story. Not the polished version. The one from before the language for it existed: a summer that changed everything without asking permission.

These four films orbit that frequency. The documentary record of a career traced backward from its height. The film that set the standard for American kitchen obsession. A director's signature at its most controlled, made before he found this subject. And the debut performance that made the casting of his next film feel like the only logical choice.