Michael Hilliard Serves As New Zealand & Australian Producer on 'Chef's Table’

From the Director of 'Jiro Dreams of Sushi' comes the Netflix original production 'Chef's Table' – a look inside the lives and kitchens of six of the world's most renowned, international culinary talents.

Finch’s Michael Hilliard served as the New Zealand and Australian producer for 'Chef's Table', having previously collaborated with series EP Andrew Fried on several seasons of the documentary format ICONOCLASTS for Sundance Channel. Ben Shewry's episode was filmed on location in Awakino, New Zealand and Victoria, Australia. The show also features Australian culinary celebrities Matt Preston and Tony Tan.

Hilliard says: “Production on 'Chef's Table' was an adventure in every sense of the word. In the show we explore Awakino, garden at Rippon Lea Estate, harvest mussels off the Portarlington coast, surf Torquay and cook outside on the Bellarine Peninsula. Ben lives out that way, and sources his ingredients himself from local suppliers there and all over Melbourne.”

“Ben is a great storyteller, and you see this in his approach to food. He told me that after doing a Hangi together that we would be bonded for life. I wasn't sure what he meant... until we chopped the wood, sourced the volcanic rock and dug the pit - all by hand. It was a great insight into his process at the restaurant and his menu."

The production utilised the new CAM-BLOCK portable motion control system to capture the stunning tabletop photography that would become the visually distinct 'food symphony.' The system was chosen for its lightweight configuration, and was used in studio and on-location. Australia was the first shoot location for the series, so the team spent time on the ground in Melbourne developing and coding the programming sequence that would become the basis for the technique.

The landmark series is Netflix’s first original documentary format, and after premiering at the Berlin Film Festival, the series will be available April 26 in Australia and around the world. Each episode profiles an acclaimed chef: Ben Shewry (Melbourne, Australia), Magnus Nilsson (Järpen, Sweden), Francis Mallmann (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Niki Nakayama (Los Angeles, CA, USA), Dan Barber (New York City, USA) and Massimo Bottura (Modena, Italy).