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Charming yet brash, genius yet vulnerable. These are the complex characteristics that attracted director Lydia Tenaglia — and most everyone in the culinary world — to Jeremiah Tower, considered the godfather of modern American cooking.

"He has these incredible strengths and tragic flaws," said Tenaglia, whose documentary, "Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent," explores Tower's influential yet often controversial career as the country's first celebrity chef. The film, which debuted recently at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, opens Friday in Utah. (Click here for a review.)

A longtime television producer, Tenaglia jumped into the documentary world after Anthony Bourdain — whom she has directed for 17 years in "No Reservations" and "Parts Unknown" — shared a copy of Tower's memoir, "California Dish: What I saw (and cooked) at the American Culinary Revolution."

"Everything he chose to do, every action he took, emanated from the experiences he had as a child, both good and bad," Tenaglia said.

After enduring a lonely aristocratic childhood where often his only comfort came from gourmet food, Tower began his career at Chez Panisse in Berkeley in 1972, becoming a pioneering figure in the emerging California cuisine movement. After leaving the renowned restaurant — due in part to a contentious relationship with founder Alice Waters — Tower launched Stars. The San Francisco restaurant quickly became one of the top-grossing U.S. restaurants.

Several years later, he walked away from the industry and disappeared for nearly two decades, only to resurface for a short time in 2014 at New York City's fabled but troubled Tavern on the Green.

"The Last Magnificent" features interviews with Mario Batali, Bourdain — who also is one of the film's producers — Ruth Reichl and Martha Stewart.

During a recent telephone interview, Tenaglia shared a few behind-the-scenes facts about the film, including why Waters is conspicuously absent, two surprises that pushed back the film's completion date and why today's generation of foodies needs to know about Tower. Her comments have been edited for space and clarity.

Did you have trouble persuading Jeremiah to do the film?

He still lives in Mérida, this tiny town in Mexico, and had been out of the scene for 15 or 16 years. He was very shocked and surprised that someone wanted to tell his story. He approached me with a healthy degree of skepticism. His entire career, he controlled his image, so it was a bit of a process trusting me to tell his story.

Alice Waters is a big part of Jeremiah's story, but she is conspicuously absent from the film. Did you try to interview her?

We had an interview set up. Two days before we left for the [California] trip, I got a call from her office that said she was no longer available. I implored her to change her mind. I really wanted her voice and recollections. But she gave her personal reasons why she didn't want to participate and I respect that.

Did you have any surprises while making the film?

The project was initially divided into three areas: Jeremiah's youth, Chez Panisse and Stars, and his solitary life in Mexico. We were getting ready to do the last bit of filming in Mexico, we had our plane tickets and everything, when he emailed that "something had come up" and we needed to postpone the shoot. He didn't tell me he had taken the job at Tavern. I discovered through the news reports, like everyone else. Suddenly we were moving into a docu-follow scenario. It was a nerve-wracking part of the filmmaking process.

There was one other interesting thing, the archival photos. About two-thirds of the way through the process, a cousin of Jeremiah's called and said he had been cleaning out his mother's house and found a box in the basement with 8-mm film and wondered if they would be helpful. It was one of the jaw-dropping moments. We had them transferred and cleaned up. The film was edited and nearing a strong rough cut when Tavern and the archival thing happened.

How important is it to share Jeremiah's story with the current generation of food lovers, many who don't know about his culinary influence?

In the film, Bourdain says that we should know the people who changed the world. Our food scene is so strong and ubiquitous right now, with people taking pictures of their food. Eating is the new entertainment. So much of the idea of the restaurant as a scene emanated from those early days at Stars and the food and the experience Jeremiah created.