BY KAREN BOSSICK

Go behind the kitchen doors to get a taste of the tension and creativity at California’s famous Chez Panisse restaurant when the Sun Valley Center for the Arts presents “Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent.”

The 2016 documentary film explores the remarkable life and craft of Jeremiah Tower, one of the most influential figures in the American restaurant industry. It will be screened at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 1, at the Magic Lantern Cinemas in Ketchum.

The film is part of The Center’s 2017-18 Film Series.

It delves into Tower’s tumultuous departure from Chez Panisse, the Berkeley, Calif., restaurant owned by Alice Waters that is famous for its organic, locally grown ingredients and for pioneering the California cuisine.

The film also delves into Tower’s celebrated Stars Restaurant in San Francisco and his nearly two-decade absence from the restaurant scene after going into hiding in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.

The film, produced by Anthony Bourdain, features interviews with Wolfgang Puck, Martha Stewart and Ruth Reichl, who will appear as part of The Center’s lecture series on Feb. 8.

“When Jeremiah Tower created the Northern California Regional Dinner at Chez Panisse in 1976, no one could have anticipated the effect it would have on restaurants and cooking around the world,” said Kristine Bretall, director of performing arts at The Center.

“It’s nearly impossible to think of foodies, eating local and the organic food movement without that dinner menu. Jeremiah Tower is still an integral part of the food world, and his cuisine truly influenced how we eat today.”

Tickets are $10 for members of The Center and $12 for nonmembers, available at www.sunvalleycenter.org or by calling 208-726-9491.