Food Talkies

There is a story behind every meal. Every cocktail. Every quest to make diners in Phoenix sit up and take notice. Phoenix filmmaker Andrew Gooi tells these stories. His videos take you into the sacred spaces of Arizona’s most innovative chefs and tastemakers.

Ice

Barman Ross Simon explains how—and why—his cocktail parlor puts so much effort into creating ice that’s at once pure and imperfect, equal parts science and art.

Omakase

For James Beard Award-winning chef Nobuo Fukuda, achieving perfect harmony between Japanese and Western styles is an unattainable goal. But he can’t stop trying.

Smoke

Sitting next to a campfire, its smoke swirling into treetops—that’s the sensation Chef Jeff Krause couldn’t get out of his mind. So he recreated it in his kitchen.

Homeboy

For Homeboy's Hot Sauce creator Jacob Cutino, his product's hot, sweet and bold ingredients go deeper than the sauce and flavor his character and identity.

The Trout

When he was 13, Ryan Swanson, the chef de cuisine at Arizona’s most celebrated restaurant, was demoralized by a steelhead trout. But the last laugh is his.

Cinnamon Samurai

When is a cocktail a painting in a glass? When it’s created by Robert Porter, a masterful artist and mainstay behind one of Phoenix’s most venerable resort bars.

About the filmmaker

Born and raised in Malaysia, Andrew Gooi is the creator of Food Talkies. He was inspired to make films about food by his favorite chef: his grandmother. Gooi lives in Phoenix with his wife and son, but he chases food stories across the globe.

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