42 Grams

After working at some of the world’s best restaurants, Jake’s aggressive personality kept him from finding a kitchen to call home. A chef without a restaurant, Jake began cooking fifteen-course menus out of his apartment. Alongside his dedicated wife Alexa, their “underground” restaurant becomes a foodie hot spot. The experience is unique: they present refined flavors while dirty dishes soak in their bedroom. A year later, they take out a lease on an abandoned chicken joint to open a real restaurant, 42 Grams. The film follows them developing menus, hiring and firing staff, shows Jake’s temper, the strains on their marriage, and what they risk in their pursuit of the American Dream. 42 Grams is an intimate portrait of how chef Jake Bickelhaupt evolved from running an illegal restaurant out of his home to being a culinary celebrity in less than a year and the toll it takes on his personal life.